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FIELD  CROPS 


BY 

A.  D.  WILSON 

SUPERINTENDENT  OF  INSTITUTES  AND  AGRICULTURAL 

EXTENSION,  COLLEGE  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

UNIVERSITY  OF  MINNESOTA 


AND 

C.  W.  WARBURTON 

AGRONOMIST,    BUREAU  OF  PLANT    INDUSTRY,    UNITEE 
STATES  DEPARTMENT  OF  AGRICULTURE 


REVISED 


COPYRIGHT,   1912,  1918 

BY 

WEBB  PUBLISHING  COMPANY 

All  Rights  Reserved 

W-12 


PREFACE 

The  extensive  use  of  the  previous  edition  of  Field  Crops 
indicates  that  it  fulfilled  an  acceptable  mission  when  agricul- 
tural courses  were  being  formulated  and  a  text  of  this  char- 
acter was  most  needed .  The  study  of  agriculture  has  recently- 
received  from  educators  and  governmental  authority  a  new 
impetus  on  account  of  the  economic  importance  of  crop 
production.  The  study  of  field  crops  will,  therefore,  be 
undertaken  more  widely  than  ever  before  and  with  a  keener 
appreciation  of  its  value  in  the  national  welfare. 

In  order  to  be  fully  apace  with  matters  of  figures  and 
fact,  a  thorough  revision  has  been  made  of  all  those  parts  of 
the  text  where  experience  has  suggested  improvement  or 
changes  of  statistics  or  conditions  have  made  it  necessary. 
It  is  now  believed  that  it  contains  the  latest  available  infor- 
mation and  practice  with  reference  to  the  subjects  treated. 
At  no  other  time  has  there  been  so  national  a  demand  for  the 
specialized  teaching  of  agriculture.  It  is  hoped  that  this 
text  in  its  present  form  will  commend  itself  anew  as  adapted 
to  the  peculiar  requirements  of  these  intensive  times. 

Field  Crops  has  been  prepared  for  students  of  high  school 
grade  and  for  those  in  man}^  other  public  and  private  agri- 
cultural schools  and  colleges  that  desire  to  teach  practical 
scientific  courses  in  agriculture.  Not  only  as  regards  sub- 
ject matter  l)ut  with  special  reference  also  to  the  language 
and  style  of  presentation  the  book  has  been  adapted  to  the 
comprehension  and  interest  of  the  student.  It  is  more  per- 
sonal than  bookish. 

The  work  is  intended  to  cover  the  period  of  the  school 
3^ear.  The  time  spent  upon  it,  however,  may  be  reduced  to 
a  semester  by  omitting  the  study  of  those  crops  which  f^O/if^^ 


6  FIELD  CROPS 

be  less  dominant  in  the  interest  of  a  local  community  and 
by  limiting  the  number  of  exercises  that  are  undertaken. 

The  study  of  Field  Crops  does  not  presuppose  a  previous 
course  in  botany  or  general  science. 

Supplementary  references  have  been  given  at  the  close 
of  each  chapter  in  the  waj^  of  Farmers'  Bulletins,  which  may 
be  obtained  free  from  the  Department  of  Agriculture,  Wash- 
ington, D.  C,  and  of  standard  volumes  which  should  find  a 
place  in  the  school  library.  The  publications  of  local  experi- 
ment stations  should  also  be  obtained. 

The  laboratory  exercices  and  field  projects  which  appear 
at  the  close  of  the  chapters  are  merely  suggestive,  as  it  i: 
thought  that  the  local  conditions  and  the  individual  judg- 
ment of  the  teacher  will  in  most  instances  determine  the 
character  of  the  experiments.  In  each  classroom  special  em- 
phasis should  be  given  to  the  particular  crops  which  are  of 
importance  in  the  region  where  the  instruction  is  given.  Fre- 
quent visits  should  be  made  to  farms  in  the  vicinity,  and  as 
many  of  the  crops  as  possible  studied  at  first  hand.  Small 
plats  of  some  crops  not  common  in  the  community  may  well 
be  grown  on  the  school  farm  to  supply  illustrative  material. 

While  the  book  is  designed  primarily  for  text  use,  the 
authors  trust  that  it  will  also  be  of  interest  to  farmers  and 
to  those  who  desire  to  become  farmers.  The  results  of  many^ 
experiments  have  been  embodied  in  the  text,  as  have  also 
the  practical  experiences  of  many  good  farmers.  The  aim 
throughout  has  been  to  make  a  simple,  practical,  readable 
manual. 

Our  acknowledgments  are  due  to  various  officials  of  the 
United  States  Department  of  Agriculture,  and  to  the  Ohio, 
Kansas,  and  Minnesota  experiment  stations  for  illustrative 
material. 

A.  D.  WILSON. 
C.  W.  WARBURTON 
October  1,  1918. 


CONTENTS 

PART  I— INTRODUCTION 
Chapter  p 

I    Classification  of  Crops fj 

Definition  of  Terms.  Classification  "of  Crops."  *  Rela- 
tive Importance.  Description  of  Classes.  Uses  of 
Crops.     Choice  of  Crops.     Diversification. 

II    The  Growth  of  Plants. 23 

The  Seed  and  Its  Germination .     What  the  Leaves '  Do. 
J  rS°°.*^.^^*^  ^^®^^  ^'s^s-     Elements  of  Plant  Food 
and  Their  Uses.     The  Production  of  Seed. 

PART  II— GRAIN  CROPS 

III  Com ^g 

Origin  and  Description.  '  Classification.' '  Importance, 
boils  and  Fertilizers.  Preparation  of  the  Soil  Pre- 
paration of  Seed  for  Planting.  Planting.  Cultivation. 
Harvesting.  Fodder  Corn.  Corn  for  Silage.  Market- 
^^g  and  Returns  Corn  in  Crop  Rotations.  Selection 
ot  Seed  Corn.  Stormg  the  Seed.  Uses.  Diseases  and 
Insects.     Improvement.     Judging 

IV  Wheat J23 

Description  and  Classification.  Importance.'  '  '  Soils 
and  Fertilizers  Growing  the  Crop.  Harvesting  and 
Threshing.  Marketing  and  Market  Grades.  Prices 
and  Cost.  Relation  to  Other  Crops.  Uses.  Diseases 
and  Insect  Enemies.     Methods  of  Improvement 

V     Oats jgg 

History  and  Description.  Importance.'  '  Production'. 
Harvesting  Marketing  and  Returns.  Rotations.  Uses. 
Insects  and  Diseases.     Improvement. 

VI    Barley ^9^ 

History  and  Description.  Importance.  Production. 
Harvesting.  Marketing  and  Returns.  Relation  to 
Uther  Crops.  Uses.  Insects  and  Diseases.  Improve- 
ment. ^ 

VII    Rye... 217 

Origin  and  Description.  Importance.  Production, 
lirowing  the  Crop.     Uses.     Diseases. 

VIII    Flax 225 

History  and  Description,  importance.  Growing  the 
Crop.  Harvesting  and  Handling.  Market  and  Re- 
turns. Diseases  and  Insects.  Rotation.  Uses.  Im- 
provement. 

7 


8  FIELD  CROPS 

(Jiiapter  I'agc 

IX     Miscellaneous  Grain  Crops 237 

Rice.  The  Grain  Sorghums.  Broom  Corn.  Buck- 
wheat.    The  Millets. 

PART  III— FORAGE  CROPS 

X     Introduction 253 

Definitions.  Importance.  Classification.  Forage  Pro- 
duction. Uses  of  P'orage.  Essentials  of  a  Forage  Crop. 
Feeding  Value. 

XI     The  Making  of  a  Meadow 260 

Essentials.  Formation  of  a  Meadow.  Sowing  in  Mix- 
tures. Preparing  the  Land.  Selection  of  the  Seed. 
Germination  Test.  Time  to  Sow.  Use  of  Nurse  Crop. 
Seeding.  Important  Meadow  Plants.  Care  of  the 
Meadow.  Permanent  Meadows  and  Their  Improve- 
ment.    Place  in  the  Rotation. 

[XII     Hay  and  Hay-Making 271 

Hay  Plants.  Production  of  Hay.  Acre  Yield  and 
Value.  Time  to  Cut.  Method  of  Cutting.  Curing. 
Machinery.  Storing.  Baling.  Measuring.  Market 
Classes. 

XIII  Pastures 281 

Importance.  Essentials.  Formation  of  a  Pasture. 
Pasture  Plants.  Improving  Native  Pastures.  Manage- 
ment of  Pastures.     Renovating  Old  Pastures. 

XIV  The  Grasses 287 

Definition.  General  Characters.  Differences.  Reason 
for  Importance.  Comparative  Value  of  Different 
Grasses. 

XV    Perennial  Grasses 291 

Timothy.  Kentucky  Blue  Grass.  Redtop.  Orchard 
Grass.  Bermuda  Grass.  Johnson  Grass.  Brome  Grass. 
Wheat  Grasses,     Fescues.  Rye  Grasses. 

XVI     Annual  Forage  Grasses 315 

The  Sorghums.  Sudan  Grass.  Foxtail  Millets.  Other 
Millets.     The  Small  Grains. 

XVII     The  Legumes 327 

What  Legumes  Are.  General  Characters.  Differences. 
Importance.  How  the  Legumes  Gather  Nitrogen. 
Nitrifying  Bacteria.     Inoculation. 

XVIII     The  Clovers 333 

Red  Clover.  White  Clover.  Alsike  Clover.  Crimson 
Clover. 

XIX    Alfalfa 351 

Origin  and  History.  Description.  Varieties.  Produc- 
tion. The  Yield.  Soils  and  Fertilizers.  Preparation 
of  the  Land.     Sowing  the   Seed.     Time   of  Seeding. 


CONTENTS  9 

Chapter  Page 

With  a  Nurse  Crop.  Inoculation.  Treatment  of 
Meadows.  Making  the  Hay.  Harvesting.  In  Rota- 
tions. Use  of  Hay.  Alfalfa  for  Pasture,  Soiling,  Meal. 
Insects  and  Rodent  Pests.     Diseases.     Weeds. 

XX     Miscellaneous  Legumes 367 

Cowpea.  Soy  Bean.  Peanut.  Field  Pea.  Field  Bean. 
Sweet  Clover.  Bur  Clover.  Japan  Clover.  Vetch. 
Velvet  Bean. 

XXI    Root  Crops 389 

^  Mangel^.     Carrots.     Turnips  and  Rutagabas.   Cabbage 
and  Kohl-rabi.     Rape  and  Kale. 

PART  IV— MISCELLANEOUS  CROPS 

XXII    Root  and  Tuber  Food  Crops 399 

The  Potato:  History  and  Classification,  Importance, 
Soils  and  Fertilizers,  Production,  Harvesting  and  Stor- 
ing, Marketing,  Rotation,  Diseases  and  Insects,  Improv- 
ment.  The  Sweet  Potato:  Description,  Importance, 
Soils  and  Fertilizers,  Method  of  Production. 

XXIII  Sugar  Plants 426 

History  and  Description.  The  Sugar  Beet:  Import- 
ance, Culture,  Production  of  Seed,  Manufacture  of 
Sugar,  By-Products.  Sugar  Cane:  Characteristics, 
Countries  Which  Produce.  Propagation,  Soils  and 
Fertilizers.  Production,  Extracting  the  Juice,  Making 
the  Sugar. 

XXIV  Fiber  Plants 437 

Cotton:  Description  and  Classification,  Importance, 
Soils  and  Fertilizers,  Growing  the  Crop,  Marketing  and 
Returns,  Uses,  Diseases  and  Insects.  Flax.  Hemp. 
Other  Fiber  Plants. 

XXV    Tobacco 461 

Origin  and  History.  Botany.  Composition.  Types. 
Importance.  Soils  and  Fertilizers.  Preparing  the  §eed 
Bed.  Sowing  the  Seed.  Preparing  the  Field.  Setting 
the  Plants.  Cultivation.  Topping.  Harvesting.  Cur- 
ing. Stripping  and  Grading.  Marketing.  Returns. 
Rotation.     Insects  and  Diseases.     Selection  of  Seed. 

PART  V— CONCLUDING  CHAPTERS 

XXVI    Rotation  of  Crops 475 

Definition.  Origin.  How  Rotations  Help.  What  a 
Rotation  Should  Contain.     Suggestive  Rotations. 

XXVn    Weeds 493 

Definition,  Need  of  the  Study.  Classes  of  Weeds. 
Damage  ftom  Weeds.  Benefits  from  Weeds.  How 
Weeds  Spread.     Methods  of  Eradication. 


FIELD  CROPS 


PART  I— INTRODUCTION 


CHAPTER  I 
CLASSIFICATION  OF  FIELD  CROPS 

1.  Introduction.  The  cultivation  of  crops  is  one  of  the 
first  evidences  of  a  permanent  civilization.  Savages  live 
on  the  spoils  of  the  hunt  and  on  such  fruits,  nuts,  and  other 
vegetable  products  as  nature  supplies.  Some  of  the  wander- 
ing tribes  in  th  .  beginnings  of  civiUzation  domesticated  the 
horse,  the  ox,  and  the  sheep;  but  these  animals  were  herded 
on  the  natural  pasture  lands,  and  the  tribes  moved  from 
place  to  place  with  them  as  the  grasses  furnished  or  failed  to 
furnish  pasture  for  their  herds  and  flocks.  The  next  stage 
in  civilization  was  the  growing  of  plants  for  their  seeds  and 
fruits  to  assure  the  food  supply  of  the  tribe  and  to  furnish 
forage  for  the  domesticated  animals.  A  natural  result  of 
this  production  of  crops  was  the  storage  of  these  products 
for  use  during  winter  and  against  times  of  famine.  Crop  pro- 
duction required  a  more  or  less  fixed  habitation  for  men,  as 
the  crop  had  to  be  protected  from  the  depredations  of  animals 
and  of  hostile  tribes  from  the  time  of  its  planting  till  harvest, 
while  permanent  storehouses  for  the  food  supply  had  to  be 
built  and  guarded.  The  building  of  permanent  habitations 
and  the  beginnings  of  home  life  can  thus  be  traced  directly 

to  the  cultivation  of  crops. 

11 


12  FIELD  CROPS 

2.  Agriculture  and  Horticulture.  Agriculture,  in  the 
original  sense,  meant  field  culture,  while  horticulture  meant 
the  growing  of  crops  within  a  garden  or  inclosure.  Both 
words  are  from  the  Latin.  The  difference  in  terms  is  due  to 
the  fact  that  the  Roman  farmers  hved  within  walled  inclo- 
sures,  the  better  to  protect  themselves  and  their  stores  of 
food  from  their  enemies.  The  larger  areas  in  crops,  the  food 
grains  and  the  forage  for  animals,  were  outside  the  walls, 
and  the  tilling  of  these  crops  was  agriculture,  from  ager, 
field,  and  cuUura,  culture  or  cultivation.  The  fruit  and 
vegetable  crops,  w^hich  required  only  small  areas  and  were 
given  special  care,  were  grown  within  the  walls  and  their 
tilling  was  horticulture,  from  horttis,  yard  or  inclosure,  and 
cultura.  In  modern  times,  however,  agriculture  has  come 
to  have  a  broader  meaning,  including  all  the  operations  of 
the  farm,  such  as  stock  raising,  the  production  of  field  crops, 
horticulture,  and  the  manufacture  of  dairy  and  other  prod- 
ucts. The  tilling  of  the  soil  and  the  production  of  field  crops 
are  now  usually  included  under  the  term  "  igronomy." 

3.  Cultivated  Plants.  The  number  of  cultivated  plants 
other  than  ornamental,  according  to  De  Candolle  in  his 
"Origin  of  Cultivated  Plants,"  is  about  two  hundred  and 
fifty.  Of  these,  four  fifths  are  natives  of  the  Old  World. 
Seventj^-seven  are  cultivated  for  their  fruits,  sixty-six  for 
their  seeds,  and  sixty-five  for  their  stems  or  leaves.  Most 
of  the  remainder  are  grown  for  their  underground  parts, 
which  may  be  thickened  roots,  as  the  beet,  or  tuberc,  as  the 
potato. 

4.  Field  Crops.  In  this  book,  only  those  crops  which  are 
ordinarily  grown  in  large  areas  under  field  culture  (the  "agri- 
culture" of  the  Romans)  are  included.  In  general,  extensive 
rather  than  intensive  methods  are  used  in  the  cultivation  of 
field  crops.  This  rule  does  not  always  hold  true.  The 
most  careful  and  intensive  methods  are  used  in  the  culture 
of  sugar  beets  and  of  some  types  of  tobacco,  while  fruits  and 


CLASSIFICATION  OF  FIELD   CROPS  13 

vegetables  that  find  a  wide  market  are  sometimes  grown  in 
large  areas  by  extensive,  or  field,  methods. 

5.  Classification  of  Field  Crops.  It  is  rather  difficult  to 
make  a  definite  classification  of  field  crops,  for  certain  uses 
may  be  made  of  a  certain  crop  under  one  set  of  conditions 
and  other  and  verj'-  different  uses  under  another.  New  uses 
are  continually  being  made  of  the  various  crops,  so  that  a 
classification  made  now  might  be  materially  wrong  in  a  few 
years.  The  piincipal  field  crops  can,  however,  be  included 
in  some  one  of  the  following  classes:  Grain,  hay  and  forage, 
fiber,  tuber,  root,  sugar  plants,  and  stimulant.  This  classi- 
fication is  based  in  part  on  the  portions  of  the  plants  which 
are  used,  and  in  part  on  the  uses  to  which  they  are  put. 
Medicinal  plants  and  a  few  others  of  a  miscellaneous  nature 
are  not  grown  to  any  considerable  extent  and  need  not  be  con- 
sidered at  length. 

6.  Relative  Importance.  The  1910  census  reports  show 
that  the  total  area  in  field  and  garden  crops  in  the  United 
States  was,  in  1909,  311,000,000  acres,  of  which  all  but  about 
10,000,000  acres  were  in  field  crops.  These  10,000,000 
acres  were  devoted  to  garden  and  orchard  crops.  The  to- 
tal area  of  improved  farm  land  was  more  than  478,000,000 
acres,  leaving  something  like  167,000,000  acres  in  pastures 
and  improved  woodlands.  Of  the  311,000,000  acres  in  field 
crops,  about  191,000,000  acres,  or  about  61  per  cent,  were 
in  grain  crops;  72,000,000  acres,  or  about  23  per  cent,  in 
hay  and  forage  crops;  about  10  per  cent  in  fiber  crops,  and  the 
remainder  in  tuber,  root,  sugar,  stimulant,  and  miscellaneous 
crops. 

VALUE  AREA  ^ 

m^mm^^mamm^^m^^aam^^      grain       ^^^■■^^■■■iii^ 


FORAGE     ^m^mm 

FIBER         HHl 
ALL  OTHERS  ■ 

Figure  1. — Relative  areas  and  values  of  the  important  classes  of  farm  crops. 


14  FIELD  CROPS 

Of  the  total  value  of  $5,487,000,000  for  all  crops,  as  re- 
ported for  the  Census  of  1910\  approximately  $2,746,000,000 
or  50  per  cent,  was  grain  crops;  $824,000,000  or  about  15 
per  cent,  hay  and  forage  crops;  and  $825,000,000,  or  about 

15  per  cent,  fiber  crops.  The  estimated  value  of  all  grain 
crops  in  1917,  according  to  the  Federal  Bureau  of  Crop  Es- 
timates, was  $7,211,000,000,  due  to  greatly  increased  prices 
for  all  farm  products.  The  value  of  the  cotton  crop  was 
$1,517,000,000  and  of  the  hay  and foragecrop,  $1,567,000,000. 
Assuming  that  the  grain,  cotton,  and  hay  crops  in  1917  rep- 
resented 80  per  cent  of  the  value  of  all  crops,  as  was  the  case 
in  1909,  the  total  value  of  all  crops  in  1917  was  approximately 
$13,620,000,000,  about  148  per  cent  more  than  in  1909. 
Dividing  the  total  value  of  crops  in  1909  by  6,361,502,  the 
number  of  farms  in  the  United  States  that  year,  gives  an 
average  value  of  crops  per  farm  of  $863,  as  compared  with 
$523  per  farm  in  1899. 

7.  Grain  Crops.  A  grain  crop  is  one  which  is  grown 
principally  for  the  production  of  its  seeds.  The  most  impor- 
tant grains  are  the  cereals,  which  are  grasses  grown  for  their 
seeds.  The  principal  cereals  in  the  United  States  are 
corn,  wheat,  oats,  barley,  lye,  and  rice.  Millet  and  sorghum 
are  also  cereals,  though  some  types  of  these  two  crops  are 
grown  for  forage  rather  than  for  grain.  Buckwheat  and 
flax  are  the  onl}^  important  grains  which  are  not  cereals,  un- 
less such  crops  as  peas  and  beans  are  included.  Field  peas, 
cowpeas,  and  soy  beans  are  usually  grown  for  forage  or  green 
manure,  but  may  be  harvested  for  their  seeds.  The  area 
in  corn,  wheat,  oats,  barley,  rye,  flax,  rice,  and  buckwheat  in 
1909,  according  to  the  Census  figures,  was  191,300,000  acres; 
the  total  production  was  4,500,298,000  bushels,  and  the  total 
value,  $2,726,827,000.  In  1917  these  figures  for  the  same 
crops  were  increased   to   225,984,000  acres,   5,728,939,000 

iThe  census  is  known  as  the  census  of  1910,  but  the  figures  of  crop  yields 
and  values  are  for  the  previous  year,  1909. 


GRAIN  CROPS 


15 


bushels,  and  $6,881,900,000,  respectively.  The  acreage,  pro- 
duction, and  value  of  each  of  these  crops  in  1917  are  shown 
in  Table  I. 

Table  I.  Acreage,  production,  and  value  of  each  of  the  important 
grain  crops  in  the  United  States  in  1917,  and  the  total  for  all  grain 
crops. 


Crop 

Acreage 

Production 

Value 

Corn 

Wheat 

Oats 

Barley 

Rye 

Acres 

119,755,000 

45,941,000 

43,572,000 

8,835,000 

4,102,000 

964,000 

1,809,000 

1,006,000 

225,984,000 

Bushels 

3,159,494,000 

650,828,000 

1,587,286,000 

208,975,000 

60,145,000 

36,278,000 

8,473,000 

17,460,000 

5,728,939,000 

Dollars 

4,053,672,000 

1,307,418,000 

1,061,427,000 

237,539,000 

100,025,000 

68,717,000 

25,148,000 

27,954,000 

6,881,900,000 

Rice 

Flax 

Buckwheat 

Totals 

The  improved  farm  land  in  the  United  States  in  1909 
was  477,424,000  acres.  Of  this  total,  40.09  per  cent  was  in 
grain  crops,  as  follows:  Corn,  20.61  per  cent;  wheat,  9.28 
per  cent;  oats,  7.36  per  cent;  barley,  1.61  per  cent;  rye,  0.46 
per  cent;  flax,  0.44  per  cent;  buckwheat,  0.18  per  cent;  and 
rice,  0.15  per  cent.  The  acreage  of  improved  farm  land 
in  1917  is  not  definitely  known,  but  it  was  of  course  larger 
than  in  1909.  The  acreage  of  wheat  in  1917  was  abnormally 
low  on  account  of  losses  from  winterkilling.      Otherwise, 

Table  II.  The  relative  Importance  of  the  corn,  wheat,  oats,  barley, 
and  other  grain  crops  of  the  United  .States,  as  indicated  by  the  percent- 
ages of  the  total  acreage,  production  and  value  of  all  grain  crops 
in  1917. 


Crop 

Corn 

Wheat 

Oats 

Barley 

Other  Grains .  .  . 


Acreage 


Per  cent 

52.99 

20.33 

19.28 

3.91 

3.49 


Production 
in  bushels 


Per  cent 

55.15 

11.34 

27.71 

3.65 

2.15 


Production 
in  pounds 


Per  cent 

62.50 

13.79 

17.94 

3.54 

2.23 


Value 


Per  cent 

58.90 

19.00 

15.42 

3.45 

3.23 


16 


t'lELD  CROPS 


the  proportionate  acreage  in  the  various  crops  was  about  the 
same  as  in  1909.  The  percentage  of  each  of  the  important 
grain  crops  in  1917  as  compared  with  the  total  of  all  grains  in 
acreage,  yield,  and  value  are  shown  in  Table  II. 


Figure  2. 


-Abundant  farm  crops  and  prosperous,  well-tilled  farms  result  when 
grain  and  stock  farming  are  wisely  combined. 


8.  Forage  Crops.  Next  to  the  grains,  forage  crops  are 
of  most  importance.  A  forage  plant  is  one  which  is  fed  to 
stock  in  the  green  state  or  when  cured  into  hay  or  fodder. 
The  leaves  and  stems  of  the  whole  plant  may  be  used.  In 
addition  to  the  harvested  hay  and  fodder  crops,  this  class 
includes  the  pasture  plants.  The  total  area  in  harvested 
forage  crops  in  1909  was  71,915,000  acres,  or  15.06  per  cent 
of  the  total  acreage  of  improved  farm  land.  The  production 
of  hay  and  forage  was  97,147,000  tons,  and  the  value  of  this 
forage  was  $822,476,000.  No  definite  value  can  be  placed 
on  the  acreage  in  pasture,  which  is  much  greater  than  the 
acreage  in  harvested  forage  crops. 


FIBERS,    TUBERS,    ROOTS  17 

Nearly  all  forage  crops  may  be  included  in  one  of  two 
<2;eneral  classes,  the  grasses  and  the  legumes.  The  first 
includes  timothy,  blue  grass,  redtop,  brome  grass,  Bermuda 
grass,  Johnson  grass,  and  all  similar  crops;  the  legumes 
include  such  crops  as  alfalfa,  red  clover,  white  clover,  cow- 
peas,  soy  beans,  Japan  clover,  and  field  peas.  Most  of  these 
are  grown  ordinarily  for  forage,  either  as  hay  or  pasture 
crops,  though  a  few,  such  as  field  peas,  cowpeas,  soy  beans, 
field  beans,  and  peanuts,  may  be  grown  for  their  seeds. 

Of  the  nearly  72,000,000  acres  in  harvested  hay  and  forage 
crops  reported  by  the  Census  of  1910,  27.17  per  cent  was  in 
mixed  timothy  and  clover  meadow;  23.45  per  cent  in  wild, 
salt,  or  prairie  grasses,  and  20.4  per  cent  in  timothy  alone. 
Alfalfa  occupied  6.54  per  cent  of  this  area;  clover  alone,  3.4 
per  cent;  grains  cut  green  for  hay,  5.92  per  cent;  and  coarse 
fodder,  such  as  sorghum  and  fodder  corn,  5.69  per  cent. 

9.  Fibers.  The  fiber  crops  grown  in  the  United  States 
are  cotton,  flax,  and  hemp.  Of  these  three,  cotton  is  by  far 
the  most  important.  Its  cultivation  is  confined  to  the 
southeastern  portion  of  the  country,  including  Texas  and 
Oklahoma.  The  cotton  crop  ranks  second  in  value  of  all 
our  field  crops,  being  surpassed  only  by  corn,  though  wheat 
and  hay  often  almost  equal  it.  Flax  is  grown  principally 
for  grain;  its  use  as  fiber  is  merely  incidental.  Hemp  is  pro- 
duced in  a  limited  way  in  a  few  scattered  areas. 

10.  Tubers.  The  only  important  tuber  crop  is  the 
potato,  sometimes  locally  known  as  the  Irish,  or  white, 
potato  to  distinguish  it  from  the  sweet  potato,  which  is  a 
root,  not  a  tuber.  This  is  one  of  our  important  food  crops, 
the  production  in  1917  being  442,536,000  bushels,  valued  at 
$543,865,000.  It  occupies  about  three  fourths  of  1  per  cent 
of  the  area  of  improved  farm  land,  and  ranks  sixth  in  value 
among  our  field  crops. 

11.  Roots.  The  principal  root  crop  of  the  United  States 
is  the  sweet  potato,  which  was  grown  on  953,000  acres  in 


18 


FIELD  CROPS 


1917,  with  a  production  of  87,141,000  bushels.  Other  root 
crops  are  grown  principally  for  stock  feeding,  as  the  mangel, 
carrot,  turnip,  and  rutabaga.  No  figures  are  given  for  the 
annual  production  of  these  crops  by  the  Bureau  of  Crop 
Estimates,  but  in  1909  they  occupied  only  18,916  acres,  with 
a  production  of  253,533  tons.     The  sugar  beet  is  a  root  crop 


Figure  3. — A  Hold  of  \vell-cultiv:ited  sugar  beets,  our  most  important  root  crop. 

which  has  grown  to  be  of  great  importance  for  the  produc- 
tion of  sugar.  It  is  discussed  under  the  heading  of  sugar- 
crops  in  Chapter  XXIII. 

12.  Sugar  Crops.  Two  important  sugar  crops  are  grown 
in  the  United  States,  the  sugar  cane  and  the  sugar  beet. 
Sugar  cane  is  much  the  older  source  of  sugar.  The  develop- 
ment of  the  sugar  beet  industry  in  America  is  comparatively 
recent,  and  it  is  onh'  in  the  last  few  years  that  the  produc- 
tion of  beet  sugar  has  surpassed  that  of  cane  sugar  in  the 
United  States.  The  cultivation  of  sugar  cane  is  limited 
practically  to  Louisiana  and  Texas,  though  the  crop  is 
grown  generally  over  the  South  for  sirup  production.  The 
sugar  beet  is  grown  over  a  wide  range  of  countrj^,  from  New 
York  to  California.     The  production  of  cane  sugar  in  the 


USES  OF  CROPS  19 

United  States  in  1917  was  235,000  short  tons,  while  that 
of  beet  sugar  amounted  to  765,000  short  tons. 

13.  Stimulants  and  Sedatives.  The  only  stimulant  or 
sedative  crop  which  is  grown  to  any  extent  in  the  United 
States  is  tobacco.  This  crop  was  grown  on  1,295,000  acres 
in  1909,  or  0.27  per  cent  of  our  improved  farm  lands.  The 
production  amounted  to  1,055,765,000  pounds,  valued  at 
$106,000,000, making  it  rank  seventh  in  value  among  our 
field  crops. 

14.  Miscellaneous  and  Medicinal  Crops.  None  of  the 
miscellaneous  and  medicinal  crops  is  grown  on  a  large  scale. 
Among  them  may  be  mentioned  broomcorn,  hops,  the  castor 
bean,  mustard,  and  various  kinds  of  mint. 

15.  The  Uses  of  Crops.  The  principal  uses  of  field  crops 
are  to  supply  food  and  clothing  for  humanity,  to  feed  ani- 
mals, to  maintain  or  to  restore  the  vegetable  matter  and  the 
fertility  of  the  soil  and  to  prevent  the  loss  of  fertility  through 
erosion  or  other  means.  The  principal  food  crops  of  the 
United  States  are  wheat,  corn,  rice,  potatoes,  and  sweet 
potatoes.  Other  crops  which  are  used  to  a  greater  or  less 
extent  for  human  food  are  oats,  barley,  rye,  buckwheat,  the 
sugar  beet,  and  sugar  cane.  The  use  of  barley,  rye,  and 
oats  as  human  food  in  the  United  States  has  increased 
enormously  since  our  entrance  into  the  world  war  in  1917. 
The  plants  which  supply  material  for  clothing  are  cotton 
and  flax.  Many  plants  furnish  food  for  man  indirectly  by 
being  fed  to  animals,  to  be  transformed  into  meat,  butter, 
and  milk.  Corn,  oats,  barley,  rye,  and  the  grasses  and  clovers 
are  the  important  food  crops  for  the  domestic  animals 
which  do  useful  work  for  man  or  furnish  him  with  food. 
Some  crops  maintain  or  add  to  the  fertility  of  the  soil  by 
supplying  the  vegetable  matter  necessary  for  the  continu- 
ance of  plant  growth.  Others,  by  providing  a  soil  cover 
which  prevents  washing,  leaching,  and  other  natural  losses, 
help  to  retain  the  fertility  for  the  production  of  useful  crops. 


20 


FIELD  CROPS 


16.  The  Right  Crops  to  Grow.  The  choice  of  field  crops 
for  a  given  farm  or  locaUty  depends  to  some  extent  on  the 
climate  and  soil  conditions,  the  kind  of  farming,  and  the 
proximity  of  the  market.  Climate  limits  the  production  of 
some  crops.  Cotton,  for  instance,  can  be  grown  profitably 
only  where  the  summers  are  long  and  hot.  Winter  wheat 
may   thrive   where   spring   wheat   is   wholly   unprofitable. 


flw  iiiA 


m^ 


Figure  4. — By  far  the  larfjost  part  of  the  corn  crop  is  fed  on  the  farm  and 

marketed  in  the  conoentrated  form  of  animal  products. 


Some  crops  grow  best  on  a  sandy  soil;  others,  on  clay.  We 
can  materially  change  the  nature  of  a  soil  by  tillage,  drainage, 
and  the  application  of  fertilizers,  so  as  to  make  it  suitable  for 
many  crops,  but  soil  t3"pes  limit  to  some  extent  the  growth 
and  profitableness  of  some  of  our  most  important  crop  plants. 
The  quality  and  value  of  tobacco  are  influenced  more  by 
the  nature  of  the  soil  on  which  it  is  grown  than  b}^  any  other 
factor.  It  is  usually  a  good  plan  to  follow  the  general  prac- 
tice of  a  neighborhood  in  choosing  the  crops  to  grow,  though 
a  new  crop  may  sometimes  be  introduced  with  profit. 

The  use  which  is  to  be  made  of  a  crop  is  a  decided  factor 
in  its  choice.  On  a  dairj^  farm,  forage  crops  arc  of  prime 
importance.  The  selection  of  these  crops  and  the  relative 
areas  to  be  devoted  to  them  depend  on  the  special  methods 
which  are  followed.     Some  crops  are  suitable  for  pasture. 


DIVERSIFICATION  OF  CROPS 


21 


others  for  hay,  and  still  others  for  cutting  for  green  feed 
(soiling).  On  a  farm  where  beef  or  pork  is  produced,  the 
growing  of  grain  is  often  more  important  than  the  produc- 
tion of  forage.  On  a  grain  or  cotton  farm,  forage  production 
is  of  little  consequence,  except  to  furnish  feed  for  the  neces- 
sary work  animals.     Market  facilities  are  often  a  deciding 


^^i 

M^^\ 

^^H 

I^^K^ 

tea'-iiMr^yi--- 

Jf^-'„ 

;^^ 

h 

» 

,  :•■*  ;;  ■.   ■■' , 

.m^  ■  ■:   - 

BtL^lik 

jj^i^i  f-  c 

'  ^li  ''          w^^A  :^; 

.ia 

\ 

-  f  1 

mm-^ 

1 

i  ^[ 

Figure  5. — On  the  way  to  market.    Beef  represents  farm  crops  converted  into  a 
form   that   is   more   useful   to   man.l 

factor  in  the  selection  of  crops;  for  bulky  crops  like  hay  might 
l^e  produced  profitably  for  a  near-l)y  market,  while  the 
profit  would  be  consumed  by  the  transportation  charges  if 
it  were  necessary  to  haul  the  product  a  considerable  dis- 
tance. It  is  usually  advantageous  to  market  crops  in  a 
condensed  form.  Feeding  forage  and  grain  crops  and  mar- 
keting them  in  the  form  of  live  stock  or  live-stock  products 
help  to  keep  up  the  fertility  of  the  soil  if  the  manure  is  util- 
ized, while  the  expense  of  marketing  is  reduced. 

17.  Diversification.  It  is  not  often  safe  to  depend 
entirely  on  a  single  crop.  It  is  sometimes  desirable  to  make 
a  specialty  of  a  crop,  and  to  become  known  as  a  producer  of 
high  quality  oats  or  corn  or  cotton  or  some  other  product  of 


22  FIELD  CROPS 

unusual  excellence.  This  plan  often  results  in  materially 
increased  profits,  but  only  a  portion  of  the  farm  should  be 
devoted  to  any  particular  crop  each  year.  It  is  often  the 
case  that  unfavorable  conditions  which  cause  a  partial  or 
complete  failure  of  one  crop  may  be  suitable  for  another. 
In  diversity  of  crops  there  is  safety.  Some  of  the  reasons 
for  diversification  and  systematic  crop  sequence  are  given 
in  the  chapter  on  Crop  Rotation. 

REFERENCES 

Domesticated  Animals  and  Plants,  Davenport. 

Origin  of  Cultivated  Plants,  De  Candolle. 

Cereals  in  America,  Hunt. 

Field  Crop  Production,  Livingston. 

Productive  Farm  Crops,  Montgomery. 

Geography  of  the  World's  Agriculture,  Finch  and  Baker. 


CHAPTER  II 
THE  GROWTH  OF  PLANTS 

18.  Introduction.  It  is  neitlier  tlesirable  nor  necessary 
to  set  down  in  detail  the  processes  which  are  involved  in 
the  germination  of  seeds  and  the  growth  of  plants,  the  uses 
of  the  different  elements  of  plant  food,  and  the  effects  of  til- 
lage, drainage,  and  other  factors  on  crop  production.  The 
study  of  growth  processes  is  more  properly  a  part  of  the  work 
in  botanj^  while  plant  food,  cultivation,  moisture  supply, 
and  other  subjects  of  similar  nature  may  best  be  discussed 
along  with  the  study  of  soils.  A  brief  outline  of  the  way  in 
which  plants  grow,  however,  should  be  of  value  to  the  stu- 
dent or  the  producer  of  field  crops,  in  affording  a  better  under- 
standing of  many  of  the  cultural  methods  and  other  matters 
which  will  be  detailed  in  the  discussion  of  each  crop. 

THE  SEED  AND  ITS  GERMINATION 

19.  What  the  Seed  Is,  A  seed  is  a  reproductive  body 
produced  by  flowering  plants.  It  contains  an  embryo 
plantlet  and  usually  an  amount  of  plant  food,  all  surrounded 
by  one  or  more  seed  coats.  Nearly  all  field  crops  are  grown 
from  seed,  though  a  few,  such  as  potatoes,  sweet  potatoes, 
and  sugar  cane,  are  grown  from  divisions  of  the  roots  or 
stalks.  The  seed  consists  of  a  minute  plant,  the  embiyo, 
and  the  store  of  the  plant  food  which  surrounds  it.  This 
embryo  may  be  seen  very  readily  in  a  pea  or  bean.  If  the 
seeds  of  these  plants  are  soaked  in  water  for  a  few  hours,  the 
skin,  or  outer  protective  covering,  may  be  removed  easily. 
If  the  halves  are  then  separated,  a  minute  plantlet  will  be 
found  adhering  to  one  of  them.  This  is  the  live  portion  of 
the  seed,  which,   under  proper  conditions,  will  start  into 

23 


24  FIELD  CROPS 

growth  and  produce  a  mature  plant.  This  plantlet ,  or  embryo, 
is  attached  to  both  halves  of  the  seed  in  its  natural  state, 
and  forms  a  sort  of  hinge  between  them.  The  embiyo  con- 
sists of  two  parts,  the  plumule,  which  grows  upward  and 
forms  the  stem  and  leaves,  and  the  radicle,  which  grows 
down  into  the  soil  and  forms  the  roots.  The  thick,  fleshy 
portions  of  the  seed  consist  largely  of  starch,  which,  as 
growth  begins,  is  changed  to  a  form  which  can  be  used  by 
the  embryo,  and  which  supports  the  plantlet  till  it  can  form 
roots  and  leaves  of  its  own  and  obtain  its  food  from  the  soil 
and  the  air. 

20.  Good  Seed.  Seed,  to  be  of  value,  must  be  viable, 
or  ''live."  Its  viability,  or  power  to  germinate  and  produce 
strong,  healthy  plants,  depends  on  the  plant  which  bore  it, 
its  maturity,  its  age,  and  the  conditions  under  w^hich  it  has 
been  kept.  The  plant  which  bore  the  seed  must  have  been 
strong  and  healthy,  or  the  seed  will  be  weak  and  lacking 
ill  vigor.  live  seed  must  be  fully  matured.  The  embryo  is 
not  wholly  developed  in  unripe  or  immature  seed,  and  the 
supply  of  plant  food  is  less  than  in  mature  seed.  Good  seed 
is  usually  fresh  seed.  Crop  plants  differ  greatly  in  the  length 
of  time  during  which  they  retain  their  viability,  but  the  vigor 
and  strength  of  germination  usually  decrease  rapidly  after 
the  seed  is  two  years  old.  The  conditions  under  which  the 
seed  has  been  kept  are  also  of  material  effect.  Ordinarily, 
seed  should  be  well  cured,  and  kept  in  a  dry  place  where  it 
will  not  freeze.  Manj^  seeds,  however,  are  not  injured  by 
frost  if  they  are  fully  cured  and  dry  when  frozen. 

21.  Germination.  Seeds  germinate  or  start  into  growth 
under  certain  conditions.     The  essentials  for  germination 

j^  are  warmth,  air,  and  moisture.     There  can  be  no  growth 
J^  ''^J^low  the  freezing  point,  and  most  seeds  germinate  very 
C*  siSjfe,  if  at  all,  below  40  degrees  Fahrenheit.     The  ''opti- 

^ — J)  ^ )erature,  or  that  at  which  seeds  germinate  best, 

[erent  kinds  of  seeds,  but  the  range  is  compar- 


PLAXT/XG  THE  SKED  25 

atively  narrow  foi-  any  one  kind.  The  optimum  temperature 
for  most  of  the  small  grains  is  around  80°  Fahrenheit,  though 
germination  begins  at  about  40°.  Cotton  and  corn  grow 
best  around  95°,  and  cotton  will  not  germinate  at  all  much 
below  55°.  Air  is  necessary  for  germination;  for  oxygen, 
which  is  an  important  constituent  of  air,  is  needed  for  certain 
chemical  changes  which  tnke  place  in  the  plant  food  stored 
in  the  seed.  ^loisture  is  '  also  needed,  for  these  changes 
take  place  only  when  water  is  present;  it  also  furnishes  a 
medium  bj^  which  the  food  supph^^  is  carried  to  all  parts  of 
the.  young  plant.  Plant  food  from  outside  sources  is  not 
necessar}^  for  germination,  nor  is  light.  These  are  required 
for  continued  growth,  but  germination  v/ill  take  place  with- 
out them.  (See  laboratory  exercises  at  the  end  of  this 
chapter.)  AVhen  planted  in  the  soil,  the  radicle  naturally 
goes  down,  while  the  plumule  pushes  up  to  the  light,  no 
matter  in  which  position  the  seed  is  planted. 

22.  Planting  the  Seed.  To  apply  these  facts  in  a  practi- 
cal way,  we  can  readily  see  that  it  is  useless  to  plant  most 
seeds  till  the  soil  and  the  air  are  warm,  though  such  plants 
as  oats  and  wheat  grow  best  at  fairly  cool  temperatures. 
For  this  reason,  they  can  be  sown  much  earlier  than  cotton 
or  corn  can  be  planted.  The  soil  should  be  fine  and  mellow, 
and  the  seed  should  not  be  covered  too  deeply,  otherwise  the 
necessary  supply  of  air  will  be  shut  off  and  the  supply  of 
plant  food  in  the  seed  will  not  be  sufficient  to  enable  the 
young  plant  to  reach  the  surface.  A  soil  that  is  cloddy  or 
crusted  is  unfavorable  for  germination,  as  it  is  more  diffi- 
cult for  the  tender  shoots  to  force  their  way  through  it. 

The  depth  of  covering  and  the  fineness  of  the  soil  desirable 
for  best  results  depend  largely  on  the  size  of  the  seed  and  the 
consequent  store  of  plant  food  it  contains.  Seed  must  be 
planted  deep  enough  so  that  it  does  not  dry  out  after  germi- 
nation starts,  yet  not  so  deep  that  the  plantlet  will  have 
difficulty  in  reaching  the  surface.     Such  coarse  seeds  as  corn 


26 


FIELD  CROPS 


and  peas  should  be  planted  deeper  than  clover  and  grass  seed; 
less  care  is  also  required  in  the  preparation  of  the  seed  bed. 
Veiy  fine  seeds,  like  tobacco,  may  best  be  sown  by  sprink- 
ling them  on  the  surface  of  a  verj^  fine  seed  bed  and  pressing 

the  seeds  into  the  earth 
with  a  board. 

Too  much  water  is 
undesirable,  for  it  not 
onlj^  excludes  the  air 
from  the  soil  but 
causes  the  seed  to  rot. 
On  the  other  hand,  a 
dr}^  soil  does  not  con- 
tain moisture  enough 
so  that  the  seed  can 
take  up  enough  to  start 
or  develop  the  neces- 
saiy  growth.  The  right 
kind  of  seed  bed  is  a 
fine,  moist,  mellow  one 
— which  does  not  drj^ 
out  readily  and  yet 

Figure  6.— A  poorly  drained  field.    Good  drain-  alloWS  plentV  of    air    tO 
age,  permitting  the  air  to  penetrate  the  sou,  '^  ^  ^ 

is  an  essential  condition  for  the  germination  rcacll     SprOUtiuS!    SCeds. 
of  seed  and  the  growth  of  plants.  ^  ^ 


WHAT  THE  LEAVES  DO 

23.  Assimilation.  The  leaves  are  the  laboratory,  or  the 
workroom,  of  the  plant.  Three  important  processes  are 
carried  on  in  this  workroom.  These  are  assimilation,  res- 
piration, and  transpiration.  By  assimilation,  the  tissues 
of  the  plant  are  ]:)uilt  up.  The  carbon  dioxide  of  the  air 
is  taken  in  through  the  leaf  membranes  and  combined  with 
water  to  make  starch.  This  process  takes  place  only  in  the 
presence  of  sunlight  and  only  in  the  green  parts  of  the  plant. 
The  green  coloring  matter  (chlorophyll)  is  of  importance  to 


TRANSLOCATION  27 

the  growth  of  the  plant,  asit  absorbs  the  rays  of  Hght.  These 
light  rays  have  the  power  to  split  up  carbon  dioxide  into  its 
parts,  carbon  and  oxygen,  so  that  the  plant  can  utilize  the 
carbon  and  set  free  the  oxygen.  This  process  wholly  ceases 
in  darkness,  and  proceeds  much  more  slowly  on  dark  days  or 
in  shady  locations  than  in  full  sunlight.  This  explains  why 
most  plants  grow  better  in  the  open  than  in  the  shade.  The 
taking  up  of  carbon  dioxide  and  giving  off  of  oxygen  also 
accounts  in  a  measure  for  the  purer  air  of  country  districts 
where  trees  and  growing  things  abound.  The  percentage  of 
carbon  dioxide  in  the  air  in  a  crowded  city  is  often  double 
that  in  the  countiy. 

24.  Translocation.  If  the  leaves  made  starch  contin- 
ually during  the  daylight  hours  and  it  remained  where  it 
was  manufactured,  they  would  soon  become  thick  and  bulky 
and  their  stems  would  be  unable  to  support  them.  As  in 
most  good  factories,  however,  a  means  is  provided  of  taking 
the  manufactured  product  and  carr^dng  it  to  other  parts 
of  the  plant.  This  is  a  part  of  the  process  of  assimilation, 
and  is  called  translocation.  It  takes  place  during  the  hours 
of  darkness.  Starch  itself  is  not  directly  soluble  in  water, 
but  the  leaf  cells  contain  substances  called  enzymes,  which 
change  the  starch  to  sugar,  and,  as  every  one  knows,  sugar 
is  readily  soluble.  The  sugar  is  then  taken  up  in  the  sap 
and  carried  to  the  stem  or  seeds  or  roots,  where  it  is  stored. 

Many  plants  which  live  from  year  to  year  store  large 
quantities  of  food  in  their  roots  over  winter  and  are  thus 
able  to  start  into  growth  very  early  in  the  following 
spring.  If  no  leaves  are  produced,  no  starch  can  be  made 
and  hence  none  can  be  stored  in  the  roots.  This  fact  sup- 
plies us  with  an  excellent  method  of  fighting  weeds  like  quack 
grass  and  Canada  thistle,  which  are  serious  weed  pests  largely 
on  account  of  the  food  they  store  and  the  resulting  vigor 
of  their  growth.  If  these  plants  are  prevented  from  reaching 
the  light  by  continuous   cultivation,   they  will  be  unable 


28  FIELD  CROPS 

to  store  additional  food,  while  each  attempt  at  growth 
reduces  the  supply  in  the  roots.  Eventually  this  will  become 
exhausted  and  the  plant  will  die.  We  can  readily  see  that 
a  plant  must  be  well  supplied  with  leaves  in  order  to  produce 
a  good  crop  of  seed  or  fruit,  for  the  leaves  furnish  the  starch 
from  which  a  large  part  of  the  matter  in  these  seeds  and 
fruits  is  made.  If  the  leaves  are  destroyed  by  insects  or 
disease  or  in  any  other  manner,  the  production  of  seed  is 
naturally  lessened. 

25.  Respiration.  The  process  of  respiration  is  in  large 
measure  exactly  the  opposite  of  assimilation.  It  is  con- 
stantly taking  place  in  all  parts  of  the  plant,  j  ust  as  ani- 
mals must  breathe  continually  to  live.  By  this  process  a 
portion  of  the  carbon  of  the  plant  is  oxidized,  or  changed 
back  to  carbon  dioxide;  but  this  change  is  much  less  rapid 
than  the  formation  of  starch  during  the  day  by  the  leaves, 
else  there  could  be  no  growth  or  increase  in  weight  by  the  plant. 
Plants  are  giving  off  carbon  dioxide  constantly,  but  the  vol- 
ume given  oft'  during  the  day  is  much  less  than  that  taken 
up,  so  that  the  air  is  purified.  At  night,  no  carbon  dioxide 
is  taken  up,  while  the  process  of  respiration  continues  to 
give  it  off.  For  this  reason,  the  air  is  purer  at  the  close  of 
a  sunshiny  summer  day  than  it  is  the  following  morning. 
For  this  reason,  also,  growing  plants  are  not  desirable  in  a' 
sleeping  room  at  night,  though  they  help  to  purify  the  air 
in  the  house  during  tlie  day. 

26.  Transpiration.  The  third  important  work  of  the 
leaves  is  tlie  giving  off  of  water,  or  transpiration.  On  the 
green,  growing  portions  of  the  plant,  but  more  particularly 
on  the  under  side  of  the  leaves,  are  minute  pores,  or  stomata. 
It  is  through  these  pores  that  the  plant  takesin  carbon  dioxide 
and  gives  off  oxygen  in  the  assimilation  process  and  also 
gives  off  carbon  dioxide  in  the  respiration  process.  These 
pores  are  ordinarily  open  so  that  water  passes  from  them 
freely  in  the  form  of  vnpoi-.     When  the  supph^  of  moisture 


ROOTS   AND    THEIR   USES  29 

which  can  be  obtained  from  the  roots  decreases,  or  the  air 
conditions  are  such  that  water  is  drawn  from  the  plant  more 
rapidly  than  it  can  be  supplied  by  the  roots,  these  stomata 
gradually  close,  thus  checking  transpiration  and  tending  to 
maintain  the  proper  quantity  of  water  in  the  leaves  and 
tissues  of  the  plant.  Some  plants  possess  the  power  of  re- 
taining their  water  content  to  a  marked  degree  and  are  able 
to  live  with  a  very  small  water  supply.  Cacti  and  other 
desert  plants  have  this  characteristic,  and  the  sorghums 
are  among  the  most  drought-resistant  of  cultivated  crops. 
The  quantity  of  water  transpired  by  plants  during  their 
period  of  growth  is  enormous.  It  is  estimated  that  corn 
gives  off  270  pounds  of  water  for  every  pound  of  dry  matter 
which  is  produced,  while  nearly  twice  this  quantity  is  tran- 
spired by  oats  in  the  making  of  a  pound  of  dry  matter.  The 
quantity  transpired  varies  with  the  kind  of  plant  and  the 
climatic  conditions.  Where  evaporation  is  very  rapid,  the 
quantity  of  water  required  by  plants  is  greatly  increased. 

THE  ROOTS  AND  THEIR  USES 
27.  What  the  Root  Is.  The  root  is  the  portion  of  the 
plant  below  the  surface  of  the  ground,  by  which  the  plant 
maintains  its  position.  The  roots  hold  firmly  to  the  soil 
and  prevent  the  plant  from  being  blown  from  place  to  place. 
Some  plants,  like  clover  and  alfalfa,  have  taproots  which 
extend  straight  down  into  the  soil,  though  they  may  be 
changed  somewhat  in  direction  by  obstacles  or  by  supplies 
of  air,  water,  or  plant  food.  From  these  taproots,  branches 
are  sent  out  which  spread  through  the  upper  portions  of 
the  soil.  Other  plants,  like  wheat  and  corn,  send  out  several 
fibrous  roots  with  many  branches  which  extend  into  the 
soil  in  all  directions.  Roots  are  of  many  kinds  and  shapes, 
from  the  fibrous  ones  of  the  grasses  to  the  long,  slender  tap- 
root of  alfalfa  and  the  heavy,  thickened  root  of  the  mangel 
and  sugar  beet. 


30  FIELD  CROPS 

28.  How  the  Root  Grows.  All  roots  are  alike  in  that 
they  end  in  a  rather  hard,  pointed  portion  about  a  quarter  of 
an  inch  long  called  the  root  cap.  It  is  by  means  of  this  root 
cap  that  the  young,  tender  root  forces  its  way  between  the 


Figure  7. — Roots  of  young  oat  plants.     Notice  the  abundance  of  root  hairs; 
also  the  grouping  tips,   which  push  through  the  soil. 

soil  particles.  The  lengthening  of  the  root  takes  place  just 
back  of  the  root  cap  rather  than  along  the  entire  length,  so 
that  the  root  is  enabled  to  find  its  way  around  obstacles,  such 
as  pebbles  and  othci-  impervious  objects  in  the  soil.  It  is 
evident  that  a  fine,  mellow  soil  is  important  for  the  free 
growth  of  roots,  as  it  is  more  easily  penetrated  by  them. 
Just  back  of  the  root  cap  are  small  rootlets,  or  root  hairs, 
which  are  the  feeding  roots  of  the  plant.  These  root  hairs 
come  into  very  close  contact  with  the  soil  particles,  as  will 
be  found  when  a  plant  is  dug  up  and  the  earth  is  washed  from 


NEEDS   OF  ROOTS  31 

the  roots  carefully.  It  will  he  verj'  hard  to  remove  all  the 
fine  particles  of  soil  from  these  root  hairs,  so  closely  do  they 
cUng.  These  root  hairs  will  be  found  along  only  a  few  inches 
of  the  growing  portion  of  the  root  just  behind  the  root  cap. 

29.  Roots  Take  in  Water.  It  has  already  been  stated 
tliat  the  leaves  of  plants  give  off  water  by  transpiration. 
Naturally,  there  must^be  some  source  of  supply  from  which 
this  water  is  drawn  and  some  means  of  conveying  it  to  the 
leaves.  The  source  of  suppl}^  is  the  moisture  in  the  soil; 
it  is  taken  in  through  the  roots,  whence  it  passes  through  the 
stem  to  the  leaves.  The  inner  bark  of  the  root  and  the  stem 
is  made  up  largely  of  hollow  cells  placed  end  to  end,  which 
make  a  ready  means  of  passage  for  this  water,  or  sap,  as  it  is 
ordinarily  called  after  it  is  taken  in  by  the  plant.  A  shortage 
in  the  supply  of  soil  moisture  is  soon  evident  from  the  wilting 
which  takes  place  when  water  is  given  off  more  rapidly  than 
it  can  be  taken  in  by  the  roots.  Plants  cannot  draw  all 
the  water  from  the  soil.  Clay  soils  will  retain  more  than 
sandy  soils.  It  is  easy  to  see  that  a  reduction  of  the  root  sur- 
face lessens  the  supply  of  water  which  the  plant  can  obtain, 
hence  cultivating  corn  so  deep  that  some  of  the  roots  are  cut 
causes  the  plants  to  wilt  and  checks  their  growth.  The 
gardener  removes  part  of  the  leaves  from  his  plants  and 
prunes  his  trees  in  transplanting  them  so  as  to  reduce  trans- 
piration and  lessen  the  danger  from  wilting,  for  he  knows 
that  part  of  the  roots  have  been  broken  off  and  those  that 
remain  cannot  supply  enough  water  for  the  full  leaf  surface. 

30.  Roots  Require  Air.  As  with  all  other  hving  parts  of 
the  plant,  the  roots  are  constantly  taking  in  oxygen  and  giv- 
ing off  carbon  dioxide;  that  is,  the  process  of  respiration  is  in 
progress.  Consequently,  roots  require  air.  Most  plants 
cannot  grow  in  a  soil  that  is  so  filled  with  moisture  that  air 
is  largely  excluded,  though  a  few  plants  have  become  adapted 
to  this  condition.  Plants  do  not  root  deeply  when  there  is 
an  oversupply  of  moisture,  for  it  is  not  necessary  for  them  to 


32  FIELD  CROPS 

extend  their  roots  to  ol)tain  water,  nor  is  tliere  sufficieni  air  in 
the  soil  for  the  healthy  growth  of  roots.  Consequentl>^ 
plants  in  wet  locations  often  suffer  first  when  drj-  weather 
comes,  for  their  root  systems  are  so  small  and  so  shallow- 
that  they  are  unable  to  obtain  enough  w^ater.  For  the  same 
reason,  plants  are  more  likely  to  be  damaged  by  a  drought 
which  follows  a  w^et  spring  than  by  one  succeeding  a  moder- 
ately dry  one.  Enough  w^ater,  but  not  too  much,  is  essential 
for  the  best  growth  of  plants.  Good  drainage  helps  by  tak- 
ing off  the  surplus  water  and  allowing  air  to  penetrate  the 
soil,  thus  inducing  deeper  rooting. 

31.  Roots  Take  in  Plant  Food.  When  the  chemist  ana- 
lyzes a  plant,  he  finds  many  things  besides  the  carbon  which 
is  taken  from  the  air  and  the  w^ater  wdth  which  it  is  com- 
bined to  make  starch.  He  finds  compounds  of  nitrogen, 
phosphorus,  potassium,  calcium,  and  other  substances.  Now 
these  elements,  wdth  the  exception  of  nitrogen,  are  not  to 
be  found  in  the  air  in  appreciable  quantities,  and  the  nitro- 
gen of  the  air  is  not  in  a  form  in  which  most  plants  can 
use  it.  Phosphorus  and  potassium  and  the  other  things  are 
to  be  found  in  the  soil,  for  soil  is  simply  decayed  or  disinte- 
grated rock,  and  these  elements  are  a  part  of  all  rocks.  The 
surface  soil  which  is  penetrated  by  the  roots  also  contains 
decaying  organic  matter,  and  it  is  from  this  that  plants  obtain 
their  supply  of  nitrogen.  Nitrogen,  phosphorus,  potassium, 
and  the  other  elements  can  not  be  taken  in  by  the  roots  of 
plants  and  pass  through  their  tissues  in  a  solid  state,  hence 
they  must  be  in  a  soluble  form  so  that  they  can  be  carried  by 
the  water  w^hich  is  drawn  in  by  the  roots.  Most  of  the  com- 
pounds of  these  elements  are  not  soluble  in  pure  water,  but 
the  water  in  the  soil  contains  some  carbon  dioxide  given  off 
by  the  roots,  and  this  carbon  dioxide  is  an  efficient  aid  in 
dissolving  the  material  in  the  soil  particles.  These  com- 
pounds of  potassium,  nitrogen,  phosphorus,  etc.,  are  known 
as  plant  food. 


ELEMENTS  OF  PLANT  FOOD 


33 


' 

'^"'"irliiiitti 

h^M'irii 

k 

1 

d 

H 

1'" 

1 

1 

i 

1 

i^"'!^-''*'^^^^^ 

^^ 

tn^;^" 

1 

i .  ^ 

H 

■|HH|H 

1 

g^-*->e*. 

k^ 

^- 

'■•;># 

^Ai* 

,a*«tjjg 

•  '''^^tllj-i^^^fc^l^S^Ml 

H 

i 

Ij^^H 

H 

^^y^ 

m 

HgM 

^Biag 

-m. 

A'^ 

<^P 

^HR 

No  treatment 

2590  lbs.  hay  per  acre 


640  lbs.  nitrate  soda 
320  lbs.  acid  phosphate 
80  lbs.  muriate  potash 
7590  lbs.  hay  per  acre 


320  lbs.  nitrate  soda 
320  lbs.  acid  phosphate 
80  lbs.  muriate  potash 
7110  lbs.  hay  per  acre 


Figure  8. — Plenty  of  nitrogen  is  essential  to  good  hay  crops.  The 
function  that  nitrogen  performs  is  that  of  constituting  a  basic  element  of  pro- 
tein, which  is  an  important  food  factor.  Those  crops,  therefore,  that  have 
prominent  protein  values  require  an  adequate  amount  of  nitrogen  for  the  con- 
struction of  leaves,  stems,  and  grain.  Nitrogen  is  particularly  beneficial  to 
which  suffer  less  from  its  excess  than  cereals. 


3— 


20  tons  manure  lU  tons  manure  N  o  treatment 

7420  lbs.  hay  per  acre  4350  lbs.  hay  per  acre         2230  lbs.  hay  per  acre 

Figure  9. — Grass  makes  better  use  of  barnyard  manure  than  any  other  crop. 


34  FIELD  CROP^ 

ELEMENTS  OF  PLANT  FOOD  AND  THEIR  USES 

32.  Nitrogen.  In  order  to  understand  the  nature  and 
uses  of  the  different  elements  of  plant  food,  we  must  know 
something  of  chemistry  and  of  soils.  Only  the  most  ele- 
mentary statements  regarding  them  will  be  made  here,  how- 
ever, and  no  attempt  will  be  made  to  explain  the  functions  or 
forms  of  these  elements.  Nitrogen,  though  present  in  the 
air,  cannot  be  used  by  plants  in  the  form  in  which  it  occurs 
there.  Plants  can  utihze  ''combined"  nitrogen  only;  that 
is,  nitrogen  combined  with  some  other  element  or  elements. 
The  bacteria  which  live  on  the  roots  of  certain  plants  have 
the  power  of  taking  nitrogen  from  the  air  and  changing  it 
into  a  form  in  which  it  is  available  for  the  use  of  the  plants 
on  which  these  bacteria  live.  When  the  roots  or  any  portion 
of  such  plants  decay  in  the  soil,  the  nitrogen  in  them  is  made 
soluble,  and  a  portion  of  it  becomes  available  for  any  plants 
that  may  subsequently  grow  in  the  soil.  The  air  is,  there- 
fore, one  great  source  of  nitrogen.  Another  is  decaying 
vegetable  matter  in  the  soil,  which  is*  acted  upon  by  other  bac- 
teria and  changed  to  the  nitrate  form,  in  which  plants  can 
use  it.  These  bacteria  are  able  to  work  only  in  warm,  moist 
soil  which  contains  plenty  of  air.  They  thus  supply  another 
argument  for  good  tillage  and  drainage. 

33.  Phosphorus.  Phosphorus  is  a  part  of  nearly  all 
rocks  from  which  soil  is  formed,  though  in  many  soils  the 
quantity  is  so  small  that  it  is  soon  reduced  below  the  needs 
of  crops.  In  sour,  or  acid,  soils  the  supply  of  phosphorus 
is  largely  in  an  insoluble  form  that  cannot  be  used  by  plants. 
Ordinarily  this  condition  can  be  corrected  by  applying  lime, 
but  on  soils  which  are  very  acid,  as  marshes  and  other  low, 
wet  lands  are  likel}'  to  be,  the  application  of  lime  is  not 
practical  and  it  is  necessary  to  supply  phosphorus  in  an 
available  form  in  order  to  grow  crops.  It  is  obtained  from 
deposits  in  the  soil  in  certain  sections  and  from  stock- 
yards where  large  numbers  of  animals  are  slaughtered,  as 


ELEMENTS  OF  PLANT  FOOD  35 

bones  are  very  rich  in  this  element.  The  ordinary  fcrms 
of  phosphate  fertihzers  are  raw  bone  meal,  raw  rock  phos- 
phate, and  acid  phosphate. 

34.  Potassium.  Potassium,  or  potash,  the  latter  the 
form  of  potassium  to  which  reference  is  usually  made,  is  the 
third  great  element  of  plant  food.  Like  phosphorus,  it  is 
present  to  a  greater  or  less  extent  in  all  soils,  but  sandy  soils 
contain  less  of  it  than  clay  and  loam  soils,  while  the  supply 
in  peat  and  muck  is  comparatively  small.  A  very  large  part 
of  the  potassium  in  the  soil  is  in  a  form  which  is  not  available 
for  the  use  of  plants  and,  as  it  becomes  available  very  slowly, 
it  occasionally  is  not  present  in  sufficient  quantity  for  plant 
growth.  It  is  much  less  likely  to  be  lacking  than  phosphorus 
or  nitrogen,  however.  The  supply  of  potassium  in  com- 
mercial fertilizers  is  obtained  from  mines,  the  most  important 
of  which  are  in  Germany.  Sea  weed  now  promises  to  be 
a  source  of  this  element.  Wood  ashes  are  also  used  to 
supply  potassium  to  the  soil. 

35.  Other  Elements.  Other  elements  which  are  neces- 
saiy  to  plant  growth,  but  which  are  usually  present  in  all 
soils  in  sufficient  quantity  so  that  no  attention  need  be  paid 
to  them,  are  calcium,  iron,  magnesium,  and  sulphur.  Silicon, 
chlorine,  and  sodium  are  also  usually  present  in  plants,  but 
they  do  not  appear  to  be  necessary  for  growth.  Calcium 
contained  in  lime  corrects  the  soil  acidity,  which  is  harmful 
to  most  plants;  it  is  also  essential  to  leaf  growth.  Lime  is 
also  necessary  for  the  development  of  the  bacteria  which 
change  the  nitrogen  of  the  air  and  that  in  decaying  vegetable 
matter  into  forms  which  can  be  used  by  plants.  Iron  is  an 
essential  part  of  the  green  coloring  matter  of  plants  (chloro- 
phyll), without  which  carbon  dioxide  cannot  be  broken  up 
and  starch  manufactured.  Lime  is  the  only  one  of  these 
elements  which  is  at  all  likely  to  become  depleted.  Liming 
to  correct  soil  acidity  is  very  commonly  practiced  in  the 
eastern  and  southern  United  States. 


36  FIELD  CHOPS 

36.  Sources  of  Plant  Food.  The  rocks  from  which  the 
soil  is  made  are  the  principal  source  of  all  the  mineral  ele- 
ments of  plant  food.  Decaying  vegetable  matter  is  also  an 
important  source,  for  all  the  elements  of  plant  food  are  taken 
up  by  plants  and  naturally  they  are  returned  to  the  soil 
when  these  plants  decay.  The  two  most  important  sources  of 
decaying  vegetable  matter  are  the  plants  themselves,  either 
the  roots  and  stubble  which  are  left  when  the  crop  is  har- 
vested or  the  entire  plant  which  is  turned  under  as  green 
manure,  and  barnyard  manure.  Barnyard,  or  stable,  manure 
is  made  up  of  bedding  and  parts  of  plants  which  are  not 
eaten  by  animals  and  also  of  the  material  in  the  food  they 
consume  which  they  are  unable  to  digest  and  assimilate,  so 
that  it  is  all  vegetable  matter.  When  this  matter  is  incor- 
porated in  the  soil,  it  is  acted  upon  by  bacteria  and  molds 
and  reduced  to  forms  in  which  it  can  again  be  used  by  plants. 
Another  important  source  of  plant  food  and  one  which  is 
largely  used  in  the  eastern  and  southern  states  is  commercial 
fertilizers.  These  are  composed  mostly  of  refuse  animal  mat- 
ter from  stockyards  and  of  mineral  matter  which  is  taken 
from  certain  soil  deposits  containing  the  desired  elements. 

37.  Humus.  The  partially  decayed  vegetable  matter  in 
the  soil  is  usually  called  humus.  The  term  humus,  however, 
as  commonly  used,  has  so  many  different  meanings  that  it  is 
confusing.  On  this  account  the  term  vegetable  matter  is 
used  here,  because  it  includes  the  fresh  suppUes  of  vegetable 
matter,  such  as  roots,  stems,  and  manure,  as  well  as  that 
which  is  partially  decayed.  The  properties  usually  credited 
to  humus  are  found  also  in  the  fresher  forms  of  vegetable 
matter.  In  addition  to  supplying  a  source  of  plant  food,  it 
has  considerable  effect  on  crop  growth  in  other  ways.  Soils 
which  contain  plenty  of  vegetable  matter  are  easier  to  work 
than  those  which  are  lacking  in  it,  for  they  hold  moisture 
better  and  are  less  likely  to  bake  and  become  cloddy.  The 
acid  developed  by  the  decomposition  of  vegetable  matter 


VARIATION  OF  CONTENT  37 

helps  to  dissolve  some  of  the  mineral  matter  in  the  soil  and 
make  it  available  for  plants.  The  dark  color  of  soils  is  due 
largely  to  the  presence  of  an  abundance  of  humus.  As  dark 
colors  absorl)  the  sun's  rays  more  completely  than  light 
ones,  dark  soils,  or  those  rich  in  humus,  are  warmer  than  those 
which  are  lacking  in  it.  It  is  evident  that  it  is  important 
to  maintain  a  plentiful  supply  of  humus  in  the  soil. 

38.  Content  of  the  Various  Elements  at  Different  Stages. 
Different  plants  draw  on  the  supply  of  the  various  elements 
of  plant  food  in  different  proportions.  They  also  vary  in 
their  composition  and  in  their  draft  on  the  soil  at  different 
stages  of  growth.  The  quantity  of  potash,  for  instance,  in 
a  crop  of  wheat  increases  up  to  the  time  when  the  crop  is 
fully  headed,  after  which  it  decreases  till  at  harvest  nearly 
half  the  potash  the  plant  contained  has  been  lost.  This 
potash  is  washed  out  by  rains  and  dews  or  it  is  returned  to 
the  soil  by  way  of  the  roots.  The  greatest  quantity  of  nitro- 
gen is  also  to  be  found  in  the  cereals  and  grasses  at  about  the 
time  when  the  plants  are  in  blossom;  later  the  nitrogen  con- 
tent decreases.  The  quantity  of  phosphorus  increases  as 
long  as  growth  continues  and  does  not  noticeably  decrease 
at  maturity.  With  other  crops  which  do  not  dry  out  when 
ripe,  as  the  potato,  there  is  no  loss  of  any  of  the  elements 
when  the  plant  is  mature.  The  composition  of  the  mature 
plant,  however,  does  not  necessarily  show  the  quantity  of 
food  material  which  has  been  used  during  growth. 

39.  When  the  Different  Elements  Are  Needed.  Plants 
differ  in  the  time  at  which  they  need  the  various  elements  of 
plant  food  just  as  they  differ  in  the  proportion  of  these  ele- 
ments which  they  utilize.  In  general,  nitrogen  is  most 
largely  used  in  vegetative  growth  (the  production  of  leaves 
and  stems)  and  is  drawn  on  more  heavily  in  the  earlier 
stages  of  growth  than  toward  maturity.  Forage  crops 
require  a  specially  hberal  supply  of  nitrogen.  Phosphorus, 
on  the  other  hand,  is  an  important  constituent  of  seeds  and 


38  FIELD  CROPS 

fruits,  and  is  used  more  largely  as  the  plant  matures.  All 
the  elements,  however,  are  used  more  or  less  during  the 
entire  growth  of  the  plant. 

40.  Result  if  an  Element  Is  Lacking.  If  any  one  of  the 
important  elements  is  lacking,  continued  healthy  growth  is 
not  possible.  If  nitrogen  is  wanting,  the  growth  will  be 
slow  and  stunted  and  the  plants  will  be  j^ellow  and  sickty 
in  appearance.  A  shortage  in  the  supply  of  potash  often 
produces  weak,  flabby  plants  which  are  likely  to  lodge. 
Calcium  seems  to  be  necessary  for  the  growth  of  leaves,  and 
iron  for  the  development  of  the  green  coloring  matter. 
Phosphorus  is  more  necessary  for  the  production  of  seed  than 
for  the  growth  of  the  stems  and  leaves,  and  plants  will  make 
a  larger  growth  if  this  element  is  lacking  than  if  any  other  of 
the  important  ones  is  not  supplied.  Potash  apparently  has 
more  or  less  influence  on  the  formation  of  starch.  Potash  is 
found  most  largely  in  the  stems  and  leaves,  and  nitrogen  and 
phosphorus  in  the  seeds  of  most  plants. 

41.  Necessities  for  the  Growth  of  Plants,  lo  sum- 
marize the  j)receding  paragraphs,  plants  require  aii",  sunlight, 
water,  heat  and  plant  food  in  order  to  grow.  Air  is  neces- 
sary to  supply  carbon  for  the  making  of  starch  and  for  the 
respiration  of  plants.  Sunlight  is  required  in  the  manufac- 
ture of  starch  and  other  compounds,  for  plants  can  break 
carbon  dioxide  into  its  parts  only  in  the  presence  of  sun- 
light. Water  is  needed  to  combine  with  the  carbon  to  makci 
starch,  to  act  as  a  carrier  of  plant  food,  to  evaporate  from  thv, 
leaf  surfaces  and  keep  the  plant  from  getting  too  warm,  and 
to  give  rigidit}^  to  the  ciells  of  the  plants.  Heat  must  be 
present  in  the  optimum  degree  for  the  best  germination. 
Plant  food  is  required  to  make  the  different  compounds 
which  compose  the  plant.  Soil  is  not  necessary  for  the 
growth  of  a  plant,  for  many  plants  will  mature  in  water  if 
their  positions  are  constant  and  the  necessaiy  plant  food  is 
supplied.     Practicall}',  however,  soil  is  a  necessity. 


PRODUCTION  OF  SEED 


39 


40 


FIELD  CROPS 


THE  PRODUCTION  OF  SEED 

42.  Reason  for  Seed  Production.  It  is  the  function  of 
nearly  all  plants  to  produce  seed  so  as  to  perpetuate  their 
kind.  Very  frequently  man  has  taken  advantage  of  this 
circumstance  and  has  used  the  seed  for  liis  own  purposes. 
It  is  the  seed  of  corn,  wheat,  oats, 
rye,  and  other  grains  which  is  used 
as  food  l)y  man;  he  also  uses  the 
seeds,  stalks,  leaves,  and  roots  of 
many  plants  to  feed  domestic  ani- 
mals. He  uses  the  lint,  or  fiber, 
which  is  attached  to  the  seed  of  cot- 
ton, and  a  large  variety  of  products 
are  made  from  the  seed  it  self.  Nearly 
all  our  cultivated  crops  must  be 
grown  from  the  seed  every  year. 
Hence  the  subject  of  seed  produc- 
tion is  important  to  the  farmer  and 
the  student  of  field  crops. 

43.  Reproductive  Organs.  The 
flowers  are  the  reproductive  organs 
of  the  plant.  They  consist  usually 
of  a  protective  green  covering,  the 
calyx;  the  corolla,  a  colored  portion,  the  main  function  of 
which  is  to  attract  insects  that  are  of  assistance  in  pollina- 
tion; a  number  of  stamens;  and  one  or  more  pistils.  The 
stamens  and  pistils  are  the  essential  parts  for  the  production 
of  seed.  The  stamen  consists  of  a  slender  stem,  the  filament, 
and  an  enlarged  upper  portion,  the  anther;  the  anther  con- 
tains a  fine  dust,  usually  yellow  in  color,  the  pollen.  The 
lower  portion  of  the  pistil  is  the  ovary,  which  later  develops 
into  the  fruit  or  seeds;  the  upper  portion,  usually  somewhat 
enlarged,  is  the  stigma;  connecting  these  two  is  the  more  or 
less  elongated  central  portion,  the  style.  The  style  contains 
a  slender  tube  through  which  the  pollen  grain  grows  down 


Figure    11. —  Flowrrs    of   flax. 


FERTILIZATIOl^  41 

from  the  stigma  to  the  ovary  to  fertihze  the  ovule,  or  youno; 
seed.  On  most  plants,  both  stamens  and  pistils  are  on  the 
same  plant  and  are  parts  of  the  same  flower.  In  corn,  the 
stamens  are  borne  in  the  tassel,  while  the  pistillate  flowers 
are  in  the  ear,  the  silks  being  the  styles  and  stigmas  of  the 
pistils  and  the  young  kernels  the  ovaries.  In  some  flowers, 
as  in  the  grasses,  the  calyx  and  corolla  are  replaced  by  scales 
or  are  wanting.  A  typical  flower  in  which  all  the  parts  are 
readily  seen  is  that  of  flax. 

44.  Fertilization.  When  the  ovules  are  ready  for  ferti- 
lization, the  stigma  becomes  moist  and  sticky  so  that  it 
catches  and  holds  the  pollen  grains  that  come  in  contact 
with  it.  The  anthers  open  and  shed  their  pollen.  It  may 
fall  directly  upon  the  moist  stigmas,  or  be  carried  there  by 
the  wind,  by  insects,  or  by  other  agencies.  In  any  case,  a 
pollen  grain  germinates  and  grows  down  the  slender  tube  of 
the  pistil  from  the  stigma  to  the  ovary,  where  it  fertilizes  the 
ovule.  The  ovule  then  develops  and  eventually  matures 
into  a  seed;  if  it  is  not  fertilized,  it  withers  away.  The  char- 
acters of  the  male  and  female  plants  are  thus  united  in  the 
embryo  of  the  seed.  The  ovary  may  contain  one,  several, 
or  many  seeds.  In  the  grains  and  grasses,  it  contains  one; 
in  flax,  several,  usually  five,  seeds  are  produced;  in  some 
weeds,  notably  purslane,  or  "pussly,"  the  number  of  seeds 
produced  by  one  flower  runs  into  the  hundreds.  The  grains 
of  corn  each  represent  a  flower,  of  which  the  silk  is  the  pistil. 
The  flowers  form  a  compact  spike  on  the  cob,  or  rachis. 

45.  Close  and  Open  Fertilization.  When  a  flower  is  so 
constructed  that  it  is  normally  fertilized  by  its  own  pollen, 
it  is  said  to  be  close-fertilized.  Such  are  the  flowers  of  oats, 
wheat,  barley,  and  many  of  the  grasses,  many  of  which  are 
fertilized  before  the  flowers  open.  Different  varieties  of 
these  plants  may  be  grown  side  by  side  without  danger  of 
mixing.  An  open-fertilized  flower  is  one  that  may  be  ferti- 
lized by  pollen  from  another  flower  either  on  the  same  plant 


42  FIELD  CROPS 

or  on  a  different  one.  In  many  plants,  it  may  be  fertilized 
either  by  its  own  pollen  or  by  that  from  some  other  flower; 
in  some,  it  must  be  fertiUzed  by  pollen  from  another  flower, 
and  the  results  are  better  if  this  flower  is  on  another  plant. 
In  corn,  open  pollination  is  assured,  because  the  pistillate 
and  staminate  flowers  are  on  different  parts  of  the  plant,  and 
the  pollen  is  not  shed  till  several  days  after  the  ovules  on  that 
stalk  are  ready  for  fertilization,  so  that  corn  growing  in  a 
field  is  almost  certain  to  be  cross-fertilized.  As  pollen 
is  carried  some  distance  b}^  wind,  varieties  planted  near  to- 
gether are  almost  certain  to  mix  if  they  ''silk"  about  the 
same  time. 

46.  Crosses  and  Hybrids.  A  cross  is  produced  by  the 
union  of  two  varieties.  If  Reid's  Yellow  Dent  corn  is  fertilized 
with  pollen  of  Leaming  or  Boone  County  White  or  any  other 
variety,  the  result  is  a  cross.  In  the  original  meaning  of  the 
word,  a  hybrid  was  the  product  of  the  luiion  of  two  species, 
as  wheat  and  rye,  but  the  term  is  now  commonly  used  in  the 
sense  of  a  cross  between  varieties  of  the  same  species.  True 
hj^brids  are  seldom  fertile;  that  is,  they  will  not  produce 
seed.  Thus  in  the  case  just  mentioned,  numerous  hybrids 
of  wheat  and  rye  have  been  produced,  but  in  very  few  cases 
have  these  hybrids  produced  seed  which  would  germinate. 
The  process  of  cross-fertilization  by  artificial  means  is  fre- 
quently used  for  the  production  of  new  varieties.  Consid- 
erable care,  time,  and  selection  must  be  devoted  to  crosses 
in  order  to  get  them  to  ''come  true,"  that  is,  to  produce  uni- 
formly the  tj^pe  of  plant  which  is  desired. 

47.  Improvement  by  Selection.  The  principle  that  like 
produces  like  is  used  by  plant  breeders  in  the  improvement 
of  varieties.  If  seed  is  continually  saved  from  the  best  indi- 
viduals in  a  field  of  wheat  or  other  close-fertilized  plant,  a 
very  noticeable  improvement  can  be  effected  in  a  few  years. 
In  the  same  way,  if  the  best  individuals  of  open-fertilized 
plants  are  saved  for  seed,  improvement  will  result,  but  care 


IMPROVEMEXT  BY   SELECTION  43 

must  be  taken  to  prevent  the  introduction  of  pollen  from 
inferior  plants.  Thus  an  ear  of  corn  may  appear  to  be  ex- 
cellent, but  some  of  the  kernels  may  have  been  fertilize^ 
by  pollen  from  inferior  stalks  and  the  plants  they  produce 
will  be  inferior.  A  large  part  of  this  ''bad  l^lood"  may  be 
eliminated  by  going  through  the  field  when  the  plants  are 
in  tassel  but  before  the  pollen  is  shed  and  pulling  out  the  tas- 
sels of  the  weak,  stalks  and  others  that  do  not  show  promise 
of  producing  good  ears.  The  improvement  of  plants  is 
very  interesting  and  should  receive  the  attention  of  many 
more  persons  than  novr  devote  their  energies  to  it. 

LABORATORY  AND  FIELD  EXERCISES 

1 .  Soak  several  beans  or  peas  in  tepid  water  for  24  hours.  Then 
examine  them,  noting  how  they  have  swelled  and  how  easily  the  outer 
skin  may  be  removed.  Separate  the  halves  and  examine  the  embryo 
which  remains  attached  to  one  of  them.  At  the  same  time  put  a  fe\\' 
beans  in  ice  water  and  keep  the  water  below  40  degrees,  if  possible, 
}jut  avoid  actual  freezing.  Note  how  httle  the  seeds  have  swelled 
in  comparison  with  the  others.  Also  soak  a  few  beans  for  the  same 
length  of  time  in  tepid  water  containing  a  spoonful  of  common  salt. 
Note  that  they  have  not  swelled  as  have  those  in  warm  water.  Seeds 
have  the  power  of  keeping  out  undesirable  solutions  and  will  not  germi- 
nate in  soils  containing  any  considerable  quantity  of  salts. 

2.  Plant  several  beans  in  a  small  box  of  good  soil;  plant  kc^rnels 
of  corn  in  a  similar  box.  Keep  the  soil  moist,  but  not  wet.  hi  a  few 
days  the  plants  will  appear.  Note  how  the  young  shoot  of  the  bean 
has  pushed  the  halves  of  the  seed  apart  and  forced  them  to  the  surface, 
wliile  the  kernel  of  corn  r(  n  ained  below.  Dig  up  one  plant  of  each 
carefully  and  note  the  difference  in  the  root  system;  also  how  the  young 
corn  plant  is  still  attached  lo  the  kernel.  A  few  days  later  note  that 
the  thick  halves  of  the  bean  have  gi-adually  disappeared;  also  that  the 
corn  kernel  has  decreased  till  little  more  than  a  shell  is  left.  The  plant 
is  drawing  on  its  supply  of  food  stored  in  the  seed.  Soon  the  green 
leaves  will  begin  to  manufacture  food  from  the  air,  while  the  roots  will 
draw  on  the  supply  in  the  soil. 

3.  Plant  beans  in  another  box  or  pot.  As  soon  as  they  appear 
above  ground,  cut  off  parts  of  the  thick  "seed  leaves"  with  a  knife, 
being  careful  not  to  injure  the  young  plant.     Leave  one  or  two  plants 


44  FIELD  CROPS 

undisturbed.  Note  that  the  vigor  of  growth  depends  on  the  quantity 
of  plant  food  available,  as  indicated  by  the  size  of  the  portions  which 
were  allowed  to  remain.  Portions  of  the  starchy  upper  part  of  the  corn 
kernel  may  be  cut  away  before  planting  without  injuring  the  germ. 
Cut  several  kernels  in  this  way.     Note  effect  on  germination  and  growth. 

4.  Cut  five  or  six  thicknesses  of  blotting  paper  the  size  of  a  large 
plate,  place  in  the  plate  and  have  another  plate  of  the  same  size  to  turn 
down  over  it.  Make  several  of  these  small  germinators  and  place 
fifty  grains  of  wheat,  oats,  or  barley  between  the  blotting  paper  in  each; 
moisten  and  keep  moist  the  blotting  paper  in  all' but  one.  (Several 
thicknesses  of  cloth  may  be  used  instead  of  the  blotting  paper  if  desired.) 
Set  one  of  the  germinators  in  a  cool  place  and  another  where  it  remains 
at  about  the  ordinary  temperature  of  the  room,  70  degrees.  Place  the 
dry  germinator  alongside  the  moist  one  in  the  warm  room.  Set  one 
germinator  in  a  warm,  Ught  place  and  another  in  a  warm,  dark  one. 
Let  no  germinators  become  dry  except  the  one  which  was  started  that 
way.  In  five  or  six  days  examine  all  of  them  and  see  what  has  hap- 
pened.    Is  moisture  necessary  for  germination?     Is  light?     Is  heat? 

5.  Plant  several  beans  in  pots  or  small  boxes  of  good  soil;  after  the 
plants  appear  set  one  box  in  a  cool  place,  but  where  it  will  not  freeze; 
put  another  in  a  dark  room  or  closet;  place  the  remainder  in  a  warm, 
sunny  window.  Set  one  of  the  pots  in  the  window  and  let  it  dr\'  out; 
plunge  another  in  a  pan  of  water  to  the  top.  Keep  the  others  moist 
but  not  wet.  In  a  few  days  compare  the  growth  which  has  been  made. 
Is  light  necessary?     Is  heat?     Moisture?     Do  the  roots  need  air? 

6.  If  there  is  sufficient  time,  a  large  number  of  other  exercises  may 
be  worked  out,  showing  that  plants  need  air,  light,  moisture,  plant  food, 
and  heat;  how  they  utilize  these  different  factors,  and  the  results,  if 
any  are  lacking.  Farmers'  Bulletin  408,  School  Lessons  in  Plant  Pro- 
duction, may  be  obtained  free  by  any  teacher  and  will  be  very  help- 
ful in  suggesting  useful  exercises  for  the  laboratory.  The  first  four 
chapters  of  A.  D.  Hall's  'The  Feeding  of  Crops  and  Stock"  will  be  found 
very  readable  and  instructive,  as  well  as  suggestive  of  numerous  methods 
of  illustrating  the  germination  of  seeds  and  the  gi-o\\i;h  of  plants. 

REFERENCES 

Cyclopedia  of  American  Agriculture,  Bailev. 

Feeding  of  Crops  and  Stock,  Hall. 

Field  Crop  Production,  Livingston. 

Productive  Farm  Crops,  Montgomery. 

Farmers'  Bulletin  408.  School  Exercises  in  Plant  Production, 


PART  II— GRAIN  CROPS 


CHAPTER  III 
CORN 

ORIGIN  AND   DESCRIPTION 

48.  Nativity.  Com,  Zea  mays,  is  a  native  of  America. 
Though  it  is  a  true  grass,  none  of  the  known  native  or  wild 
grasses  resemble  it  very  closely,  and  the  species  from  which 
it  was  developed  has  never  been  determined.  All  that  is 
known  is  that  it  was  cultivated  by  the  Indians  when  America 
was  discovered  by  Columbus.  It  is  generally  agreed  that 
corn  was  first  introduced  into  Europe  by  Columbus  on  his 
return  from  his  voyage  of  discovery,  and  that  its  growth  in 
Europe  and  Asia  has  spread  from  that  original  importation 
and  from  later  ones  from  this  continent.  Corn  is  reported 
to  have  been  first  grown  by  white  people  within  the  present 
limits  of  the  United  States  in  the  colony  of  Virginia  in  1608. 

The  term  "corn"  is  used  in  Europe  to  designate  any 
kind  of  grain,  as  wheat,  oats,  or  barley,  and  it  was  so  used 
before  the  discovery  of  America.  When  the  cultivation  of 
Indian  corn,  or  maize,  was  introduced,  the  same  term  was 
applied  to  it.  The  confusion  in  the  meaning  of  the  word 
and  the  consequent  beUef  that  corn  was  grown  in  Europe 
before  the  journeys  of  Columbus  to  the  New  World  are 
doubtless  due  to  this  use  of  the  word,  which  is  now  legally 
accepted  as  meaning  maize,  or  Indian  corn.  It  is  unani- 
mously conceded  that  corn  is  a  native  American  plant,  first 
grown  and  used  by  the  Indians  of  this  hemisphere.  Con- 
clusive evidence  of  its  nativity  is  indicated  by  its  connection 
with  mythological  and  religious  ceremonies  of  the  Indians 
and  the  discovery  of  ears  of  corn  buried  with  mummies  in 
Peru  and  Mexico. 

45 


4b  FIELD  CROPS 

49.  Botanical  Characters.  Botanically,  corn  is  a  grass; 
that  is,  it  belongs  to  the  same  family  of  plants  as  timothy, 
wheat,  and  blue  grass.  The  roots  are  fibrous  and  spread 
several  feet  in  the  ground  in  all  directions,  the  extent  vary- 
ing with  the  type  of  soil  and  the  weather  conditions.  After 
the  plant  is  partly  grown,  brace  roots  grow  out  from  one  or 
two,  and  in  some  cases  several  of  the  lower  joints.  Their 
function  is  simply  to  l^race  the  plant,  to  aid  it  in  with- 
standing the  strain  caused  In'  the  wind. 

The  stem,  like  that  of  all  the  common  grasses,  is  made 
up  of  nodes  and  internodes,  varying  greatly  in  length  in 
different  varieties  and  different  seasons.  The  internodes 
are  much  longer  near  the  top  than  near  the  bottom  of  the 
stalk.  The  stem,  which  is  flattened  or  grooved  on  one  side, 
has  a  hard  fibrous  coat  or  outer  wall  and  a  soft,  spongy 
pith,  differing  in  this  respect  from  the  hollow  stems  of  most 
grasses.  The  height  of  the  plant  varies  from  2  to  20  or 
more  feet;  the  usual  height  is  from  5  to  10  feet. 

The  leaves  grow  out  from  the  nodes.  As  in  other  grasses, 
they  clasp  the  stem  in  the  form  of  a  sheath  which  fits  very 
closely.  Where  the  leaf  spreads  out  from  the  stalk,  the 
sheath  clasps  about  it  so  tightly  that  under  ordinary  circum- 
stances water  is  prevented  from  getting  in  between  the 
sheath  and  stem.  The  blades  of  the  leaves  vary  in  breadth 
from  2  to  4  inches  and  in  length  from  2  to  4  feet.  The  leaves 
have  the  useful  habit  of  rolling  up  from  the  edges  when  there 
is  a  shortage  of  moisture,  thus  greatly-  reducing  the  trans- 
piration from  them. 

The  male  arid  female  flowers  of  corn  are  borne  on  differ- 
ent parts  of  the  plant.  The  tassel  l^ears  the  male  flowers 
and  the  silks  are  the  visible  parts  of  the  female  flowers.  The 
male  flower  produces  the  pollen  which  is  to  pollinate  the 
female  flower.  As  it  is  produced  at  the  top  of  the  stalk,  the 
pollen  easily  falls  by  gravity  or  more  commonly  it  is  blown 
from    the  tassel  to  the  Stigma  of  the  female  flower.     On 


CLASSIFICATION  OF  CORN  47 

account  of  tlie  manner  of  pollination  and  because  manj^  corn 
plants  are  usually  grown  together,  crossing  very  generally 
results;  that  is,  pollen  from  one  plant  fertiUzes  the  ovaries 
of  other  plants,  so  that  corn  is  usually  cross-pollinated. 
In  fact,  this  habit  is  so  general  that  a  stalk  growing  by  itself 
seldom,  if  ever,  produces  a  good  ear,  because  of  imperfect  fer- 
tilization of  the  flowers. 

50.  Mixing  of  Varieties.  The  flowering  habits  of  corn 
make  it  extremely  difficult  to  maintain  pure  varieties,  as 
they  will  mix  at  considerable  distances.  For  this  reason 
it  is  highly  desirable  for  a  community  to  grow  but  one 
variety.  If  adjoining  farms  produce  different  varieties, 
each  is  very  likely  to  be  mixed  with  the  other.  In  favorable 
weather,  the  pollen  grains  may  be  carried  by  the  wind  at 
least  200  rods,  if  there  is  no  obstruction  in  the  way.  The 
fact  that  the  prevailing  winds  in  the  corn  belt  are  from  the 
southwest  during  the  season  of  the  year  when  corn  is  blos- 
soming is  made  use  of  to  some  extent  by  locating  the  seed 
plat  from  which  seed  for  the  next  year's  crop  is  to  be  selected, 
where  the  wind  blows  from  it  to  the  other  corn  fields,  rather 
than  from  the  other  corn  fields  to  it. 

CLASSIFICATION 

51.  Variation.  All  the  varieties  now  so  common  in  every 
section  of  the  country  are  the  result  of  selection  and  breed- 
ing from  the  original  Indian  types,  which  were  very  inferior 
to  those  grown  at  the  present  time.  Very  little  was  done  to 
improve  corn  until  the  middle  of  the  nineteenth  century,  but 
during  the  past  seventy  years  improvement  has  been  very 
rapid  till  at  present  there  are  hundreds  of  named  varieties. 
Some  of  these  varieties  mature  in  90  to  100  days  and  produce 
small  ears  with  shallow  kernels,  while  others  require  140  or 
more  days  to  mature  and  produce  large,  deep-kerneled  ears. 
In  color,  corn  kernels  may  be  yellow,  white,  red,  black,  blue, 
or  a  mixture  of  some  of  these  colors  and  shades.     The  cobs 


48 


FIELD  CROPS 


are  either  white  or  red.  Most  of  these  colors  of  kernels 
with  the  variation  of  color  in  the  cobs  may  be  found 
occasionally  in  any  of  the  important  classes  of  corn. 

52.  Classes  or  Types.  All  the 
more  important  varieties  and  types  of 
corn  may  be  grouped  into  one  of  the 
four  following  classes,  viz.:  dent,  flint, 
sweet,  and  pop.  Two  other  classes, 
soft,  or  flour,  and  pod,  are  of  little 
practical  value  in  North  America,  but 
the  others  have  a  very  important  rela- 
tion to  the  agriculture  and  commerce 
of  the  world. 

53.  Dent  Com.  Dent  corn  is  a 
type  in  which  the  hard,  or  horny,  part 
of  the  kernel  is  at  the  sides  and  does 
not  extend  over  the  crown  as  it  does 
in  flint  and  pop  corn.  This  arrange- 
ment causes  the  crown  of  the  kernel 
to  shrink  at  maturity,  making  an  in- 
dentation which  distinguishes  dent 
corn  from  other  types.  This  is  the 
most  important  type  of  corn;  prob- 
ably 90  per  cent  of  the  total  corn  crop 
of  the  world  is  in  this  class.  The 
characters  which  make  it  more  valu- 
able than  other  types  are  that  (1)  it 
yields  more;  (2)  it  does  not  produce 
many  suckers  or  tillers;  (3)  it  is  easily 
husked;  and  (4)  it  is  comparatively 
soft  and  easy  for  animals  to  masticate. 

Generally  speaking,  it  is  larger  and  later  than  flint  corn, 
though  there  are  small,  early  maturing  varieties  of  the  dent 
type.  Ears  of  dent  corn  may  vary  in  size  from  4i/^  to  10 
inches  in  circumference  and  from  6  to  12  inches  in  length. 


Figure  12. — A  good  ear  of 
a  small,  early  variety  of 
dent  corn  adapted  to 
the  North. 


FLINT   CORN 


49 


54.  Flint  Com.  Flint  corn  ranks  next  in  importance 
to  the  dent  type.  The  crown  of  the  kernel  as  well  as  the 
sides  is  covered  with  a  hard,  horny  part  which  does  not 
shrink,  or  at  least  shrinks  evenly,  at  maturity.  This  gives 
each  kernel  a  hard,  smooth,  flinty  appearance,  to  which  the 
name  of  the  type  is  due.  Ears  of 
flint  corn  are  usually  longer  in  pro- 
portion to  their  circumference  than 
ears  of  dent  corn.  There  are  fewer 
rows  of  kernels  on  the  ears,  the  fur- 
rows between  the  rows  are  usually 
wider,  and  the  kernels  are  compara^ 
tively  shallow.  It  is  very  prolific  in 
the  production  of  suckers  or  stools, 
making  it  quite  valuable  as  a  fodder 
crop,  but  it  does  not  yield  as  much 
grain  as  most  of  the  varieties  of  the 
dent  type.  The  ears  have  a  larger 
proportion  of  cob  to  corn  than  is 
found  in  the  dent  varieties;  the  shank 
of  the  ears  is  usually  large,  making 
flint  corn  much  harder  to  husk  than 
dent  corn.  Fhnt  corn  is  usually 
earlier  in  maturing  than  most  dent 
varieties,  hence  it  is  specially  adapted 
to  northern  latitudes,  but  it  has  little 
agricultural  value  where  the  more 
desirable  dent  varieties  thrive.  It  is 
used  to  some  extent  as  human  food  in  the  form  of  hominy, 
and  is  regarded  as  preferable  for  cornmeal. 

55.  Sweet  Com.  Sweet  corn  has  practically  no  hard, 
or  horny,  endosperm.  Consequently,  the  whole  kernel  usu- 
ally shrinks  at  maturity,  presenting  a  shriveled  appearance. 
As  indicated  by  its  name,  its  chief  characteristic  is  that  it 
contains  a  higher  percentage  of  sugar  than  the  other  types. 


Figure  13. — Ear  of  flint 
corn. 


50 


FIELD  CROPS 


It  is  grown  chiefly  for  human  food  and  is  highly  prized  as  a 
table  vegetable  both  when  green  and  fresh  in  the  summer 
and  when  canned  or  dried  for  winter  use.  There  are  many 
varieties  of  sweet  corn,  differing  in  size  and  in  length  of  time 

they    require    to    mature. 

The  stalks  are  smaller  and 
finer  than  the  stalks  of  most 
varieties  of  dent  corn. 
Sweet  corn  is  grown  very 
little  for  feed  for  animals, 
except  that  it  is  sometimes 
used  for  fodder  or  for  early 
fall  feed  for  live  stock. 

56.  Pop  Com.  Popcorn 
is  grown  only  as  human 
food  to  be  eaten  when  pop- 
ped; that  is,  when  the  ker- 
nels have  been  puffed  by 
heating.  It  is  this  peculiar 
character  from  which  it 
gets  its  name.  The  kernels 
are  covered  with  a  hard, 
flinty  covering  as  are  the 
kernels  of  flint  corn;  in  fact, 
a  large  proportion  of  the 
kernel  is  hard  and  flinty. 
Some  kernels  are  sharp- 
pointed  at  the  crown,  while 
others  are  rounded  and 
smooth  hke  flint  kernels.  The  kernels,  ears  and  plants 
are  very  much  smaller  than  the  other  kinds  of  corn  men- 
tioned. On  this  account  it  is  of  little  value  for  the  produc- 
tion of  feed  for  live  stock. 

57.  Varieties.     A  study  of  local  varieties  is  necessary  and 
advisable,  but  there  are  far  too  many  named  varieties  in  the 


Figure  14. — An  ear  of  sweet  corn  of  the 
Stowell'  8  Evergreen  type.  A  large, 
late  variety. 


IMPORTANCE    OF   THE    CROP  51 

United  States  to  make  it  worth  while  to  attempt  an  enumera- 
tion of  them.  Corn  is  so  easily  changed  by  selection  that 
one  may  not  be  able  to  recognize  a  well-known  variety  after 
some  one  else  has  been  growing  and  selecting  it  for  some  time. 
This  is  especially  true  if  it  has  been  grown  under  different  soil 
and  climatic  conditions  from  those  in  which  he  has  seen  it 
grow  before.  On  this  account,  varietal  names  are  not  impor- 
tant, but  types  of  corn  and  their  adaptability  to  various 
conditions  must  be  thoroughly  understood  by  practical  corn 
growers.  (See  Selection  of  Corn,  Sections  121-132.)  A  few 
of  the  important  and  widely  distributed  varieties  of  corn  are 
Reid's  Yellow  Dent,  Boone  County  White,  Silvermine,  Gold- 
mine, Legal  Tender,  Silver  King,  Minnesota  No.  13,  and 
Wisconsin  No.  7. 

IMPORTANCE  OF  THE  CROP 

58.  World  Production.  Corn  is  a  tropical  plant  that  can 
withstand  very  little  frost.  It  seems  best  adapted,  how- 
ever, to  the  temperate  zone  and  it  is  here  that  it  reaches  its 
most  perfect  development.  The  leading  countries  in  the 
production  of  this  crop  normally  are  the  United  States, 
Austria-Hungary,  Argentina,  Russia,  Egypt,  and  Australasia, 
in  the  order  named.  According  to  the  Bureau  of  Crop  Es- 
timates of  the  United  States  Department  of  Agriculture,  the 
average  annual  world  production  of  corn  for  the  five  years 
from  1909  to  1913  was  3,800,000,000  bushels,  of  which  71 
per  cent  was  produced  in  the  United  States.  The  figures 
from  1909  to  1913  are  given  in  preference  to  those  for  later 
years,  which  are  of  necessity  incomplete. 

59.  Production  in  the  United  States.  The  average  acre- 
age, production,  yield,  and  value  of  corn  in  the  different 
states  for  the  years  from  1908  to  1917  are  shown  in  Table 
III.  The  relative  production  is  shown  graphically  in  Figurel5. 

60.  Relative  Importance.  Corn  is  grown  on  a  larger  acre- 
age and  produces  a  larger  total  yield  than  any  of  the  other 


52 


FIELD  CROPS 


Table  III.     Average  annual  acreage,  production,  value,  and  acre  yield 
of  corn  in  various  states  for  the  ten  years  from  1908  to  1917,  inclusive. 


State 

1 

Acreage 

Production 

Farm  value 
Dec.  1 

Acre 
yield 

Per  cent 
of  total 

111 

Acres 

10,295,000 
9,896,000 
7,223,000 
7,580,000 
4,971,000 
3,820,000 
6,856,000 
7,526,000 
3,560,000 
3,368,000 
2,352,000 
4,810,000 
2,607,000 
1,467,000 
3,984,000 
1,644,000 
1,705,000 
2,757,000 
2,028,000 
2,513,000 

14,800,000 

Bushels 

352,637,000 

351,409,000 

194,219,000 

185,899,000 

180,470,000 

146,969,000 

130,195,000 

128,266,000 

96,184,000 

84,691,000 

76,226,000 

74,787,000 

71,070,000 

57,936,000 

57,611,000 

54,513,000 

53,657,000 

51,614,000 

51,586,000 

51,267,000 

309,228,000 

2,760,434,000 

Dollars 

215,994,000 

206,006,000 

128,425,000 

113,325,000 

113,351,000 

97,798,000 

100,587,000 

79,209,000 

68,530,000 

62,759,000 

46,334,000 

44,810,000 

43,700,000 

46,514,000 

54,619,000 

38,807,000 

39,688,000 

48,918,000 

44,408,000 

41,397,000 

268,165,000 

Bushels 

33.9 
34.9 
26.8 
24.5 
36.3 
38.4 
18.9 
17.5 
27.5 
25.2 
32.6 
15.8 
27.7 
39.8 
14.7 
33.3 
31.7 
18.9 
25.5 
20.5 
20.9 

Per  cent 
12.78 

Iowa 

Mo. 

12.73 

7.04 

Nebr 

Ind 

6.73 
6.54 

Ohio 

Texas 

Kans 

Kv. 

5.32 
4.72 
4.65 
3.47 

Tenn 

Minn 

Okla 

S.  Dak 

Penn. 

Ga. 

3.07 
2.76 
2.71 
2.57 
2.10 
2.09 

Wis 

1.97 

Mich 

N.  C 

Va. 

1.94 

1.87 
1  87 

Ark. 

1.86 

All  others... 

11.21 

U.  S 

105,672,000 

1,903,514,000 

26.0 

100.00 

20.72'/( 

Figure  15. — The  percentage  of  the  corn  crop  of  the  United  States  produced    in  the 
states  of  greatest  production  (1908-1917). 


STATISTICS 


53 


cereals,  and  the  product  is  of  greater  value  than  any  other 
crop  in  the  United  States.  Table  IV,  which  shows  the  aver- 
age acreage,  yield,  and  farm  value  of  some  of  the  leading 
farm  crops  during  the  five  years  from  1913  to  1917,  inclusive, 
effectively  illustrates  their  relative  importance. 

Table  IV.     Average  acreage,  yield,  and  value  of  the  leading  farm  crops 
in  the  United  States  during  the  five  years  from  1913  to  1917,  inclusive. 


Crop 

Area 

Yield 

Farm  value 

Corn 

Hay 

Area 

108,101,000 

31,689,000 

52,490,000 

34,790,000 

40,587,000 

3,802,000 

1,334,000 

7,761,000 

737,000 

3,108,000 

1,185,000 

831,000 

1.721.000 

Bushels 

2,768,201,000 

(a)  78,165,000 
793,469,000 

(b)  12,776,000 
1,330,196,000 

366,131,000 

(c)  1,080,076,000 

198,655,000 
69,873,000 
49,443,000 
12,080,000 
31,096,000 
13.680.000 

Dollars 

2,294,249,000 
974,442,000 

Wheat 

Cotton 

Oats  . 

951,698,000 
936,611,000 
643,178,000 

Potatoes 

Tobacco 

Barley 

Sweet  potatoes .... 

Rye 

Beans  (d) 

322,511,000 

157,457,000 

143,598,000 

57,484,000 

53,604,000 

.52,524,000 

Rice 

Flax... 

35,036,000 
24,763,000 

(a)  tons;  (b)  bales;  (c)  pounds;  (d)  average  for  four  years,  1914-17. 

Another  basis  on  which  the  importance  of  the  corn  crop 
in  the  various  states  may  be  judged  is  by  the  proportion  of 
the  improved  farm  acreage  which  is  annually  planted  to  it. 
Figure  16  shows  graphically  the  percentage  of  this  acreage 
which  was  planted  to  corn  during  the  ten  years  from 
1908  to  1917  in  the  five  states  of  largest  production.  Corn 
occupied  21.09  per  cent  of  the  improved  farm  land  in  the 
United  States,  as  compared  with  10.35  per  cent  in  wheat  and 
8.02  per  cent  in  oats.  In  Illinois  and  Iowa  corn  is  planted 
on  more  than  one  third  of  the  improved  farm  land,  while 
in  several  other  states  it  is  grown  on  more  than  one  fourth  of 
the  improved  acreage.  These  figures  are  based  on  the  aver- 
age annual  acreage  of  the  various  crops  in  the  ten  years  from 
1908  to  1917,  as  reported  by  the  Bureau  of  Crop  Estimates, 


54  FIELD  CROPS 

and  on  the  acreage  of  improved  farm  land  reported  by  the 
Census  of  1910,  latest  authentic  figures  available. 

61.  Acre  Yield.  The  average  yield  of  corn  to  the  acre, 
even  in  the  best  corn  states,  is  seen  to  be  very  low  in  com- 
parison with  known  yields  in  any  community.  The  states 
showing  the  highest  average  yield  are  those  with  compara- 
tively small  acreages.  The  five  states  showing  highest  yields 
are  Connecticut,  with  an  average  yield  of  46.2  bushels; 
Massachusetts,  43.5  bushels;  New  Hampshire,  42.7  bushels; 
Maine,  41.6  bushels;  and  Penns3dvania,  39.8  bushels  to  the 

MO.  imi^aa^^KmBmmmmmmm^i^^^mi^^mam  ss^c 

ILLINOIS  wmm^^aammaaotmi^^Hmmammmmmi^a^^  36.70% 
IOWA        mamBmiB^mmammmmmmmmm^^^maa^  33.56% 
NEB.         mma^mmam^^^mm^^maa^Ma^^m  31.09% 

INDIANA  B^nBHHHHHH^HHnBBBHaai  29.36% 

Figure  16. — The  proportion  of  the  improved  farm  acreage  in  the  leading 
states  which  is  annuallj'  planted  to  corn  (1908-1917). 

acre.  The  surprising  fact  shown  by  a  study  of  yields  is  that 
in  the  northern  states,  where  small  varieties  are  grown,  the 
yield  is  considerably  more  per  acre  than  in  the  Southern 
states,  where  the  largest  varieties  thrive.  The  South,  how- 
ever, owing  to  the  longer  season  and  more  abundant  rainfall, 
has  greater  possibilities  in  corn  production  than  can  be  found 
in  the  North,  and  yields  there  of  over  200  bushels  per  acre 
have  been  obtained  on  specially  prepared  and  fertilized  land. 
The  possibilities  for  increased  yields  are  great  in  any  part 
of  the  United  States,  and  even  in  the  northernmost  states 
yields  of  100  bushels  and  over  are  sometimes  produced. 

62.  Units  of  Measure  for  Farm  Crops.  Over  a  very 
large  part  of  the  United  States  the  unit  of  measure  for  the 
cereal  crops  is  the  bushel  of  2,150.42  cubic  inches  capacity, 
but  as  these  crops  vary  in  weight  per  bushel  and  as  their 
values  are  more  accurately  measured  by  weight  than  by 
bulk,  a  more  accurate  comparison  of  production  and  value 
may  be  made  by  use  of  the  unit  of  measure  now  common  in 
the  western  states,  the  pound  or  hundred  pounds.     It  would 


SOILS  AND  FERTILIZERS  55 

be  a  desirable  change  for  all  concerned  if  it  could  be  agreed 
to  discard  the  bushel  as  a  unit  of  measure  and  substitute 
the  actual  weight  of  the  crop. 

To  show  the  value  of  this  change,  only  a  few  illustrations 
of  its  convenience  are  needed.     As  most  of  our  cereals  are 
used  at  times  for  feed,  the  question  often  arises,  which  is 
it  more  economical  to  feed  and  which  to  sell?     If  oats  are 
selling  at  60  cents  per  bushel  of  32  pounds,  and  corn  at  98 
cents  per  bushel  of  56  pounds,  it  is  a  somewhat  complicated 
problem  to  determine  just  what  is  the  relative  price  of  the 
two  crops.     If  the  same  problem  were  to  arise  and  the  rela- 
tive prices  were  the  same,  with  100  pounds  as  the  unit  of 
measure  instead  of  the  bushel,  it  would  be  stated  as  follows: 
Oats,  $1.87^A  per  cwt. ;  corn,  $1.75  per  cwt.     The  comparison 
is  instantly  and  accurately  made  without  computation.     An- 
other problem  that  often  arises  on  the  farm  is  to  determine 
the  advisability  of  increasing  or  decreasing  the  relative  acre- 
ages of  some  of  the  cereal  crops.     A  comparison  by  bushels 
is  certainly  unfair,  if  feed  is  the  object  of  the  crop.     If  one 
knows  that  barley  has  been  yielding  about  25  bushels,  oats 
35  bushels,  and  corn  30  bushels  to  the  acre,  one  is  likely  to 
have  a  different  idea  of  the  relative  importance  of  the  crops 
than  one  would  if  the  yields  were  stated  in  pounds  to  the 
acre  as  follows:  Barley,  1,200  pounds;  oats,  1,120  pounds; 
and  corn,  1,680  pounds. 

SOILS  AND  FERTILIZERS 

63.  Soils.  Corn  grows  best  in  warm,  rich,  moist,  well- 
drained  sandy  loam  soils.  It  should  not  be  inferred,  how- 
ever, that  this  crop  will  not  thrive  on  aiiy  other  kind  of  soil, 
because  it  will  grow  and  is  grown  on  soils  of  almost  every 
type.  It  will  grow  on  very  light,  poor  land,  but  it  makes 
really  good  growth  only  on  deep,  rich  soil.  It  is  a  strong 
feeder,  and  can  make  use  of  coarse  manure  and  soddy  land 
better  than  most  other  field  crops. 


56  FIELD  CROPS 

To  be  reasonably  sure  of  success,  corn  land  must  be  suffi- 
ciently well  drained  to  allow  a  free  circulation  of  air  in  the 
soil  to  a  depth  of  from  2  to  3  feet,  must  have  enough  plant 
food  available  for  the  production  of  ordinary  field  crops, 
and  must  be  situated  where  there  is  a  sufficient  period  of  time 
free  from  frost  to  allow  the  crop  to  mature.  A  higher  aver- 
age temperature  must  prevail  than  is  necessary  for  some  of 
the  small  grain  and  grass  crops.  The  soil  must  be  compact 
enough  to  retain  moisture,  yet  should  be  fine  and  mellow 
enough  so  that  the  roots  may  easily  penetrate  it. 

The  com  plant  in  its  growth  uses  large  amounts  of  mois- 
ture. Corn  can  hardly  be  termed  a  dry-land  crop,  as  it  must 
have  a  reasonable  supply  of  moisture  to  succeed,  but  it  can 
be  carried  over  periods  of  drought  of  considerable  length  by 
persistant  cultivation  to  check  evaporation.  The  soil,  how- 
ever, must  have  contained  a  good  supply  of  moisture  before 
the  beginning  of  the  drought.  The  only  reason  corn  can  stand 
dry  weather  better  than  the  small  grain  crops  is  because  cul- 
tivation is  possible  during  its  growth,  lessening  the  evapora- 
tion from  the  soil. 

64.  The  Application  of  Manure.  As  corn  is  a  gross- 
feeding  plant  and  is  able  to  make  good  use  of  such  sources 
of  plant  food  as  manure,  it  is  the  general  practice  to  apply 
barnyard  manure  to  the  corn  crop,  usually  before  the  land  is 
plowed.  As  the  greater  part  of  the  available  manure  is  pro- 
duced during  the  winter,  plowing  is  generally  deferred  until 
spring,  so  that  all  the  manui-e  may  be  put  on  the  land.  Plow- 
ing under  coarse  stable  manure,  whether  on  sod  or  stubble 
land,  is  objectionable  from  the  standpoint  of  moisture  con- 
trol and  probably  also  in  the  matter  of  getting  the  best  use 
of  the  manure.  The  coarse  manure  lying  between  the  sub- 
soil and  the  furrow  slice  quite  effectively  separates  these  two 
portions  of  the  soil  and  retards  the  movement  of  moisture 
between  them.  Much  better  results  can  be  obtained  if  the 
land  thus  manured  is  thoroughly  disked  and  the  manure 


MANURE   AS  FERTILIZER  57 

incorporated  in  the  top  soil  before  plowing.     Doing  so  aids 
in  settling  the  furrow  slice  firmly  against  the  subsoil. 

65.  Applying  Manure  to  Grass  Land.  A  better  practice 
than  the  one  just  mentioned  is  to  apply  manure  to  the  grass 
land  a  year  or  more  before  the  land  is  to  be  plowed  for  corn. 
Manure  applied  to  pasture  land  greatly  stimulates  the  growth 
of  grass.  By  trampling  and  by  natural  decomposition,  it 
becomes  somewhat  mixed  with  the  surface  soil  and  incor- 
porated with  it;  then,  when  the  land  is  plowed,  it  does  not 
act  as  a  coarse  mulch  to  separate  the  plowed  portion  from  the 
subsoil.  This  method  of  applying  manure  has  the  additional 
advantage  of  disposing  of  most  of  the  weed  seeds  w^hich  are 
commonly  present  in  it.  Weed  seeds  in  manure  thus  applied 
are  induced  to  germinate,  but  the  plants  are  unable  to  make 
much  growth  and  have  httle  opportunity  to  produce  seeds  in 
either  meadow  or  pasture. 

66.  Applying  Manure  as  a  Top-Dressing.  Another  very 
good  practice  that  is  being  followed  more  and  more  by  corn 
growers  is  to  apply  the  manure  to  corn  land  as  a  top-dressing. 
This  practice  makes  it  possible  to  plow  the  land  in  the  fall. 
Manure  accumulated  about  the  yards  and  produced  in  the 
stables  during  the  winter  is  spread  on  top  of  the  fall  plowing 
and  is  disked  into  the  soil  in  the  spring  before  the  corn  is 
planted.  In  this  way  the  coarse  manure  which  is  applied 
does  not  in  any  way  tend  to  separate  the  surface  soil  from  the 
subsoil.  It  helps  to  form  a  surface  mulch  to  retard  the 
evaporation  of  moisture  from  the  soil,  and  it  is  near  the  sur- 
face where  many  of  the  weed  seeds  in  it  may  be  germinated 
and  the  plants  easily  killed  by  subsequent  cultivation.  It  is 
above  the  roots  of  the  plants,  so  that  leaching  from  the 
manure  carries  the  fertility  down  to  the  plant  roots,  instead 
of  carrying  it  below  and  out  of  their  reach  as  may  be  the 
case  if  manure  is  plowed  under. 

From  ten  to  fifteen  loads  of  manure  to  the  acre,  which  is 
as  much  as  it  is  generally  advisable  to  apply  at  one  time,  may 


58 


FIELD  CROPS 


be  disked  into  the  surface  of  fall-plowed  land  so  thoroughly 
as  to  give  little  or  no  trouble  in  the  planting  and  cultivation 
of  a  corn  crop. 

67.  Use  of  Green  Manure  Crops.     In  the  South  and  East, 
where  less  stable  nianuic  is  available  than  in  the  corn  belt, 


Figure  17. — Hills  of  corn  six  weeks  from  planting.  Note  how  the  surface  18 
inches  of  soil  is  filled  with  roots.  The  soil  rau.st  be  well  prepared  for  this 
rapid  growth  of  roots. 

while  the  need  of  adding  fertility  and  vegetable  matter  to 
the  soil  is  greater,  the  use  of  green  manure  crops  before  plant- 
ing corn  is  generally  beneficial.  Where  corn  is  planted  on 
sod  land,  plenty  of  vegetable  matter  is  available,  but  such 
land  is  not  common  in  the  South.  In  that  section,  the  vege- 
table matter  can  best  be  supplied  by  the  use  of  cowpeas, 
soy  beans,  velvet  beans,  crimson  clover,  bur  clover,  or  some 
crop  of  similar  nature.  The  green  manure  crop  should  be 
plowed  under  some  time  previous  to  planting  corn,  so  that 
the  land  has  time  to  settle  and  the  vegetable  matter  to  decay 
to  some  extent,  but  it  is  usually  better  to  plow  in  the  early 


COMMERCIAL  FERTILIZERS  59 

spring  than  in  the  fall.  Leaching  and  washing,  which  are 
very  likely  to  take  place  on  fall-plowed  land,  are  prevented 
by  a  cover  crop  which  is  not  plowed  under  till  spring. 

68.  Commercial  Fertilizers.  While  a  leguminous  green- 
manure  crop  such  as  those  suggested  in  the  previous  para- 
graph will  supply  nitrogen  it  is  usually  necessary  throughout 
the  East  and  South  to  supply  some  phosphorus  and  potash 
to  meet  the  demands  of  the  corn  crop.  Quite  frequently,  a 
complete  fertilizer  which  contains  all  three  of  the  elements 
just  mentioned  is  used.  The  fertilizer  is  quite  commonly 
distributed  along  the  row  in  two  applications,  the  first  when 
the  corn  is  about  2  feet  high  and  the  second  just  before  it 
tassels,  though  sometimes  it  is  all  applied  either  broadcast 
before  or  in  the  row  at  the  time  of  planting.  The  fertilizing 
materials  generally  used  are  cottonseed  meal,  muriate  of 
potash,  and  acid  phosphate.  The  quantity  which  is  applied 
and  the  proportions  of  the  three  constituents  vary  greatly 
with  the  soil  on  which  the  crop  is  grown  .  The  usual  quan- 
tity of  the  mixture  ranges  from  300  to  500  pounds,  about  two 
thirds  of  which  is  put  on  at  the  first  application.  A  good 
corn  fertihzer  should  contain  about  8  per  cent  of  phosphoric 
acid,  5  to  6  per  cent  of  nitrogen,  and  5  to  9  per  cent  of  potash. 
It  is  not  usually  profitable  to  use  commercial  fertilizers  in 
the  corn  belt  where  there  is  plenty  of  vegetable  matter  in 
the  soil,  though  on  some  soils  which  are  decidedly  deficient 
in  some  one  element,  marked  benefit  is  obtained  from  it. 

PREPARATION  OF  THE  SOIL 

69.  Preparation  of  Fall-Plowed  Sod  Land.  The  abihty  of 
corn  to  use  plant  food  in  a  crude  form  makes  it  possible  to 
plant  it  on  newty  broken  sod  land.  It  frequently  follows 
clover  or  some  other  hay  crop,  or  is  planted  on  a  field  that 
has  been  in  pasture.     Such   crops  leave  the  land  some- 

lAt  the  present  time  (1918)  the  prices  of  certain  fertilizers  are  so  high  that 
thei."  use  is  practically  prohibitive.  The  general  use  of  green  manures  and  the 
more  careful  and  economic  use  of  barnyard  manure  is  imperative. 


60  FIELD  CROPS 

what  soddy,  so  that  considerable  preparation  is  required  to 
make  a  good,  hospitable  seed  bed  for  corn. 

Sod  land  is  best  prepared  for  corn  if  it  can  be  plowed  in 
the  fall,  so  that  there  is  some  opportunity  for  it  to  decompose 
before  the  crop  is  planted.  There  is  also  time  for  the  part 
turned  by  the  plow  to  settle  sufficiently  to  establish  connec- 
tion with  the  subsoil,  so  that  in  case  of  a  shortage  of  moisture 
the  supply  in  the  lower  layers  of  soil  may  be  drawn  up  to 
the  plants  growing  in  the  furrow  slice.  The  freezing  and 
thawing  of  the  winter  season  tends  to  break  down  the 
unusual  porous  structure  to  its  natural  condition. 

Land  plowed  in  the  fall  should  be  disked  or  harrowed 
early  in  the  spring  to  check  the  evaporation  of  moisture 
from  the  surface.  Harrowing  aids  in  warming  the  soil  by 
checking  the  evaporation.  It  also  causes  many  weed  seeds 
to  germinate.  The  young  plants  can  then  be  killed  by  later 
harro wings  before  the  crop  is  planted.  IMuch  of  the  advan- 
tage in  plowing  corn  land  in  the  fall  may  be  lost  by  neglect- 
ing to  harrow  early  in  the  spring.  If  the  land  is  left  rough 
and  has  settled  clear  to  the  surface,  as  is  usuall}^  the  case 
in  the  spring  with  fall-plowed  land,  evaporation  goes  on 
very  rapidly;  and,  as  corn  is  not  usually  planted  for  several 
weeks  after  the  ground  thaws  in  the  spring,  there  is  oppor- 
tunity for  the  loss  of  much  moisture.  It  is  desirable  to  disk  or 
harrow  this  land  at  least  once  every  week  till  planting  time. 
In  preparing  a  seed  bed  for  corn  the  object  should  be  to  have 
the  lower  part  of  the  furrow  slice  thoroughly  pulverized  but 
compact  enough  to  permit  the  free  movement  of  water  by 
capillarity,  while  the  upper  part  should  be  loose  enough  to 
retard  the  evaporation  of  moisture  somewhat  by  preventing 
its  easy  rise  to  the  surface,  where  it  will  be  quickly  drawn  out 
by  the  sun  and  wind. 

An  additional  advantage  of  fall  plowing,  especially  in  the 
case  of  sod  land,  is  that  many  insects  are  destroyed  which 
might  otherwise  cause  considerable  injury  to  the  crop. 


PLOWING  ^OD  LAND 


61 


70.  Preparation  of  Spring-Plowed  Sod  Land.  A  large 
part  of  the  land  that  is  planted  to  corn  must,  for  various 
reasons,  be  plowed  in  the  spring.  To  get  the  best  results 
from  spring  plowing,  the  conditions  obtained  by  fall  plowing 
must  be  dupli- 
cated as  nearly 
as  possible.  One 
of  the  chief  diffi- 
culties  with 
spring  plowing  is 
that  the  soil  does 
not  have  a 
chance  to  settle; 
it  is,  therefore, 
likely  to  be  so 
loose  that  it 
dries  out  readily, 
while  at  the  same 
time  the  move- 
ment of  moisture 
from  the  subsoil 
up  through  the 
furrow  slice  is 
somewhat  re- 
tarded. One  of 
the  most  com- 
mon  ways   of 

putting  spring-plowed  land  in  the  desired  condition  is  tc. 
harrow  and  disk  it  several  times  after  plowing  to  aid  in 
packing  it.  The  surface  of  spring-plowed  land  is  easily 
pulverized,  especially  if  it  is  harrowed  soon  after  it  is  plowed. 
For  this  reason,  a  spring-plowed  field  may  appear,  from  the 
surface,  to  be  in  excellent  condition,  when  in  reality  it  is  in 
very  poor  condition,  as  the  surface  may  be  thoroughly  pul- 
verized and  the  lower  part  of  the  furrow  sHce  still  improperly 


Figure  18. — Hills  of  corn  eleven  weeks  from  planting. 
The  roots  have  now  penetrated  to  a  depth  of  2H  feet. 
Compare  with   Figures   17  and  19. 


62 


FIELD  CROPS 


\fL 


pulverized  and  packed  against  the  subsoil.     The  earlier  the 
plowing  is  done  the  more  readily  the  wet  sod  will  be  broken 
/^  ..- ^  up.    Considerable  disk- 

ing  and   harrowing   is 
.v,^.   >^?/  necessary  to  prepare  a 

spring-plowed  field  for 
corn.  A  practice  that 
is  followed  by  many 
careful  farmers  is  to 
disk  the  land  thorough- 
ly before  plowing.  The 
pulverized  surface, 
when  turned  over,  is 
more  readily  compacted 
against  the  subsoil  than 
land  which  is  not  pul- 
verized. This  contact  is 
especially  necessary  in 
sod  land,  for  the  stubble 
and  other  vegetable 
matter  on  the  surface  of 
meadow  or  pasture  land 
are  liable  to  separate  the 
furrow  slice  quite  effec- 
tively from  the  subsoil, 
thus  greatly  retarding 
the  movement  of  mois- 
ture. 

Cultivation  can  be 

done  more  cheaply  and 

more  completely  before  the  corn  is  planted  than  afterwards, 

because  more  horses  and  larger  machines  can  be  used  and  all 

the  soil  can  be  cultivated  to  better  advantage. 

71.  Preparation  of  Stubble  Land.     The  methods  out- 
linofl  for  the  preparation  of  sod  land  for  corn  will  produce 


Figure  19. — Hills  of  corn  at  maturity.  Note 
that  the  roots  ha\e  now  penetrated  to  a 
depth  of  4  feet.    .Seo  Figures  17  and   IS. 


PREPARATION   OF  SEED  CORN  63 

equally  good  results  when  ai)i>lied  to  ordinary  stubble  fields. 
The  only  difference  is  that  such  lands  are  usually  more  easily 
prepared  than  sod  lands. 

PREPARATION  OF  SEED  CORN  FOR  PLANTING 
72.  Good  seed  is  equally  as  important  as  a  well-pre- 
pared seed  bed.    Good  seed  corn  is  seed  from  a  variety 


I 


'<* 


Figure  20— Grading  seed  corn  makes  it  possible  for  the  planter  to  drop  the 
seed  uniformly  A,  the  ungraded  sample;  B,  the  large,  umform  kernels  for 
planting;  C,  the  small  and  irregular  kernels  graded  out. 

adapted  to  one's  needs  and  conditions,  of  strong  germina- 
tion, and  sufficiently  uniform  to  insure  even  planting.  For 
the  selection  of  seed  corn  see  Sections  121-132. 

73.  Grading.  The  first  step  necessary  in  the  spring  to 
obtain  good  seed  is  to  select  ears  of  corn  from  the  supply  at 
hand  that  are  as  uniform  in  type  of  ear  and  kernel  as  it 
is  possible  to  get.  Corn  is  generally  planted  with  machines. 
These  machines  can  plant  uniformly  only  when  kernels  of 
uniform  size  are  used.     Two  ears  of  corn  may  be  good  indi- 


v4  FIELD  CROPFi 

vidua!  ears,  but  if  the  t}'pe  of  kernel  is  different  when  they 
are  shelled  together  they  will  make  an  uneven  sample  of 
corn  which  cannot  be  planted  uniformly.  Likewise,  kernels 
of  corn  from  the  tip  and  butt  of  the  ear,  if  shelled  with  the 
more  uniform  kernels  in  the  middle,  make  an  uneven  mix- 
ture which  no  machine  planter  can  plant  uniformly.  If 
a  corn  grader  is  at  hand  through  which  corn  may  be  run  and 
the  small,  large,  and  irregular  kernels  removed  from  those 

which  are  of  a  uniform 


@0® 


type,  it  is  not  so  impor- 
tant that  uniform  ears  l)e 
selected,  or  that  the  tip 
and  butt  kernels  be  re- 
moved.    If  such  a  ma- 

Fi.ure  21.-Tip.  middle,  and  butt  kernels.  ^lline  is  UOt  at  hand,  aS 
Tip  and  butt  kernels  should  be  shelled  off  io  \\\c>.  r«Q«fk  nn  +V»a  TViQinv- 
from  the  seed   ears  and  discarded,  as  thev        ^^    ^^^^  ^"^^^  ""  '^"^  majUl 

Sniformfy  ^'''^  "'  ^^''^*'  '"""'^  ""'"  "°*  "^"^"'^     ^^^  ^^  farms,  it  is  highly 

important  that  uniform 
ears  be  chosen  and  that  the  tip  and  butt  kernels  be  removed 
from  these  ears  before  the  bulk  of  the  corn  is  shelled  for  seed. 
If  this  is. done,  a  reasonably  uniform  sample  may  be  obtained. 

74.  Germination.  Experiments  conducted  by  a  number 
of  experiment  stations  indicate  conclusively  that  there  is  a 
very  close  relation  between  the  stand  of  corn  and  the  yield. 
This  being  true,  it  is  of  great  importance  that  only  such  seed 
as  is  known  to  be  of  strong  germination  be  planted.  If  100 
kernels  from  a  uniform  sample  of  corn  are  taken  and  each 
of  the  100  kernels  grow,  producing  a  strong,  vigorous  shoot 
and  strong  roots,  it  is  reasonable  to  suppose  that  the  sample 
is  good;  but  if  only  90  out  of  the  100  kernels  grow,  the  sample 
is  of  questionable  value,  because,  if  such  seed  is  planted,  it 
means  that  one  acre  out  of  every  ten  planted  will  not  pro- 
duce anything. 

75.  The  Individual  Ear  Test.  Instead  of  making  the 
test  from  a  bulk  sample  of  corn,  as  suggested  above,  the  best 


THE  RAG-DOLL  TESTER  65 

growers  now  recommend  and  practice  the  testing  of  each 
ear  of  corn  as  to  its  germinating  power,  before  it  is  shelled, 
and,  if  it  does  not  germinate  strongly,  it  is  discarded.  There 
are  numerous  ways  of  making  this  test,  which  are  all  good. 
To  make  the  test,  some  method  of  numbering  each  indi- 
vidual ear  must  be  used.  There  are  several  different  ways 
of  numbering  the  ears,   among  which  are  the  following: 

(1)  The  ears  may  be  placed  on  a  seed-corn  tree  (Figure  42) 
and  a  number  placed  on  the  tree  near  each  one  of  the  nails. 

(2)  If  the  corn  is  hung  up  by  the  double-string  method  (Fig- 
ure 43),  the  ears  may  be  numbered  without  taking  them  out 
of  the  strings  by  numbering  one  string  1,  the  next  string  11, 
the  next  21,  and  so  on,  assuming  that  there  are  ten  ears  in 
each  string  and  that  the  ears  in  the  string  are  counted  from 
1  to  10.  If  there  are  13  ears  in  each  string,  for  example, 
the  second  string  is  marked  14,  the  third  27,  and  so  on.  (3) 
Another  method  of  numbering  is  to  lay  the  ears  side  by  side 
on  a  plank  and  drive  a  tenpenny  nail  between  each  two  ears. 
In  this  way  each  ear  of  corn  will  be  separated  from  the  next 
by  a  nail,  and  the  number  may  be  written  just  beneath  each 
ear  with  a  piece  of  lead  or  pencil. 

76.  The  Rag-Doll  Tester.  Probably  the  simplest  method 
of  testing  seed  corn  is  with  what  is  known  as  the  rag-doll 
tester.  To  make  this  tester,  take  a  strip  of  bleached  muslin 
about  16  inches  wide  and  from  3  to  5  feet  long.  Begin  6 
inches  from  one  end  and  mark  it  off  in  4-inch  spaces;  then 
draw  a  line  lengthwise  through  the  center  of  the  strip,  divid- 
ing each  of  these  spaces  in  two.  Now  number  the  first  two 
4-inch  spaces  1  and  2,  the  next  two  3  and  4,  and  so  on  to  the 
end.     Moisten  the  muslin  and  lay  it  flat  on  the  table. 

77.  Making  the  Test.  Take  6  kernels  from  ear  1  and 
place  them  in  space  1  with  all  the  tips  pointing  to  one  side; 
then  take  6  kernels  from  ear  2  and  place  them  in  space  2, 
and  so  on.  As  long  a  strip  of  muslin  may  be  used  as  can  be 
conveniently  rolled.     The  spaces  may  be  made  slightly 

5 — 


66 


FIELD  CROPS 


■JiM^ 


Figure  22.— Ras-doU  seed 
corn  tester  showing  seed 
placed  in  separate  sec- 
tions. 


smaller  if  desired.  Press  the  moist- 
muslin  down  on  the  kernels.  Next 
begin  at  one  end  to  roll  the  strip,  either 
maldng  a  roll  of  the  cloth  alone  or 
rolling  it  over  a  cob  or  small,  round 
stick  (Figure  23).  Tie  the  completed 
roll  in  the  middle  with  a  string  or  fasten 
it  with  a  rubber  band.  Soak  it  in  luke- 
warm water  three  or  four  hours,  then 
let  it  drain,  and  place  it  where  it  will 
remain  moist  and  warm.  Ordinary 
room  temperature  of  about  70  degrees 
is  all  right,  though  germination  will  be 
more  rapid  if  it  is  kept  at  about  80 
degrees  during  the 
day.  If,  however, 
one  wishes  to  make 
a  very  selective 
test,  it  would  be 
well  to  keep  the 
temperature  down 
to  that  of  probable 
field  conditions  at 
the  time  of  plant- 
ing. More  marked 
differences  will  then 
be  apparent  in  the 
sprouts.  The  higher 
the  temperature  the 
more  likely  even  the 


poorer  kernels  are  to  develop  fair  sprouts. 
Keep  the  roll  moist  by  covering  with  wet 
cloth  or  by  moistening  occasionally,  as 
may  be  found  necessary,  but  do  not  soak 
it  again.    At  the  end  of  5  days  unroll  the 


Figure  23.  —  Rag-doll 

seed  corn  tester  rolled 
around  a  corncob. 


PLANTING   CORN 


67 


doll  carefully  so  as  not  to  mix  the  kernels  from  the  different 
ears,  count  the  kernels  which  have  germinated  strongly  in 
each  space,  make  a  record  of  the  results  for  each  ear,  and  dis- 
card all  ears  which  do  not  show  at  least  5  strong  sprouts  from 
the  6  kernels.  If  seed 
corn  is  plentiful  and  of 
good  quality,  save  onl}^ 
the  ears  which  show 
strong  sprouts  from  all 
kernels.  When  a  person 
has  a  variet}^  of  corn 
known  to  be  adapted  to 
his  conditions,  has  select- 
ed and  graded  it  till  the 
kernels  are  uniform,  and 
has  tested  the  germina- 
tion and  discarded  all 
that  did  not  germinate 
approximately  100  per 
cent,  he  has  good  seed. 

PLANTING  CORN 

78.  Important  Factors  in  Planting.  There  are  four  points 
of  importance  to  consider  relative  to  planting  corn.  The 
first  of  these  is  the  time  of  planting;  second,  depth  of 
planting;  third,  method  of  planting;  and  fourth,  thickness 
of  planting. 

79.  Time  of  Planting.  The  time  of  planting  corn  varies 
with  the  season  and  the  location.  Corn  is  a  semi  tropical 
plant  which  will  not  stand  frost;  on  this  account,  it  must  not 
be  planted  until  the  season  is  quite  well  advanced  or  until 
danger  of  frost  is  past.  Corn  planted  in  cold,  wet  ground 
does  not  do  well,  and  seed  that  would  normally  germinate 
and  grow  strongly  may  be  entirely  lost  if  planted  when  con- 
ditions are  not  suitable.  Generally,  it  is  safe  to  delay  plant- 
ing until  there  is  every  indication  of  favorable  conditions  of 


Figure  24.  —  Germination  of  corn  kernels. 
The  one  at  the  left  has  the  tip  shoot  only: 
the  one  in  the  center,  the  root;  only  the  one 
at  the  right,  with  both  root  and  tip  strong- 
ly developed,  will  produce  a  strong  plant. 


68 


FIELD  CROPS 


soil  and  weather.  Corn  planted  May  20  may  easily  out- 
strip in  growth  and  yield  that  planted  under  less  favorable 
conditions  ten  days  earlier. 

It  is  quite  obvious  that  no  definite  date  for  planting  can 
be  set,  even  for  one  locality,  and  much  less  for  the  United 
States.     It  is  usually  well  to  plant  as  early  as  soil  and  weather 


Figure  25. — Average  dates  of  beginning  corn  planting  throughout  thr  United 
States  (Bureau  of  Statistics,  Bui.  S4). 

conditions  will  warrant.  The  date  will  naturally  vary  in 
different  parts  of  the  United  States,  fi"om  March  in  the 
South  to  June  in  the  extreme  North.  The  accompanying 
map,  Figure  25,  shows  the  average  date  when  corn  planting 
is  begun  in  the  various  sections,  as  compiled  from  a  large 
mass  of  information  on  this  subject  collected  by  the  Bureau 
of  Crop  Estimates  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture. 


METHOD  OF  PLANTING 


69 


80.  Depth  of  Planting.  As  com  thrives  best  in  a  warm, 
moist  soil,  it  is  obvious  that  rather  shallow  planting  will  be 
most  likely  to  furnish  the  best  conditions  at  the  season  of  the 
year  that  corn  is  usually  planted.  The  depth  must  neces- 
sarily be  varied  with  the  condition  of  the  soil.  The  seed 
must  be  planted  deep  enough  so  that  it  can  get  sufficient 
moisture  to  germinate, 
but  it  is  not  necessary  or 
desirable  to  plant  it  deep- 
er. On  light  or  very  loose 
soils,  it  should  be  planted* 
deeper  than  on  heavy 
soils.  On  soil  that  has 
been  well  prepared,  it 
should  not  be  necessary 
to  plant  deeper  than  2 
inches  to  get  sufficient 
moisture,  and  1  inch  is  to 
be  preferred,  if  there  is 
enough  moisture  present. 

In  some  of  the  drier  sections  of  the  corn  belt,  hsting  is 
practiced.  Listing  is  planting  corn  in  the  bottom  of  a  fur- 
row from  3  to  5  inches  deep  and  covering  it  with  only  1  or  2 
inches  of  s(nl.  As  the  corn  grows  and  the  field  is  cultivated, 
the  soil  is  gradually  thrown  in  about  the  plants.  This 
method  is  not  advisable  except  in  veiy  dry  locations,  for 
experiments  have  shown  that  even  in  regions  of  hght  rainfall 
corn  planted  in  the  usual  way  has  given  larger  yields  than 
listed  corn,  except  in  the  very  driest  seasons. 

81.  Method  of  Planting.  There  are  two  common  meth- 
ods of  planting  corn  for  the  production  of  grain.  The  first  is 
in  checked  rows,  with  hills  42  or  44  inches  apart  each  way. 
The  second  is  in  drills  42  or  44  inches  apart,  with  the  kernels 
of  corn  dropped  in  the  drills  from  9  to  18  inches  apart.  Some 
good  com  growers  follow  one  method,  some  the  other.    Those 


Figure  26. — Planting  corn  with  the  check-row 
planter.  Long,  straight  rows  make  the 
work  of  cultivation  ea.sv. 


70  FIELD  CROPS 

who  advocate  drilling  corn  claim  that  less  cultivation  is 
required,  and,  because  the  corn  is  better  distributed,  larger 
yields  are  obtained.  The  facts  do  not  seem  to  bear  out  this 
contention,  though  on  specially  clean  soil  and  in  years  when 
the  rainfall  is  normal  or  more  than  normal,  slightly  larger 
yields  have  been  obtained  from  drilling.  In  a  large  number 
of  tests  conducted  by  several  experiment  stations,  however, 
there  has  not  been  sufficient  difference  in  yield  to  warrant 
advocating  one  method  above  the  other. 

One  of  the  objects  in  growing  corn  is  to  clean  the  land  of 
weeds.  This  certainly  can  be  more  thorough^  accomplished 
if  the  corn  is  planted  in  checked  rows  and  cultivated  both 
ways  than  if  planted  in  drills;  on  this  account,  it  is  deemed 
advisable,  on  most  soils,  to  plant  in  this  manner.  It  is 
also  easier  to  husk  hill  corn  than  drill  corn;  but,  if  it  is  to  be 
fed  out  of  the  bundle,  the  advantage  of  the  larger  number  of 
small  ears  is  in  favor  of  drilling.  On  rich  soils,  such  as  clover 
sod,  that  are  comparativelj^  free  from  weeds,  drilling  corn 
may  give  very  good  satisfaction,  especially  if  the  land  is 
thoroughly  prepared  before  the  corn  is  planted.  On  hilly  or 
broken  land  it  is  also  often  advisable  to  plant  in  drills  to 
prevent  washing  of  the  soil  and  to  avoid  the  difficulty  of  short 
turns  in  cultivation.  It  is  generall}^  better,  however,  to 
plant  corn  so  that  it  may  be  cultivated  both  ways. 

82.  Thickness  of  Planting.  The  general  practice  in 
planting  corn  is  to  plant  in  hills  44  inches  apart,  with  three 
kernels  to  the  hill;  or,  if  planted  in  drills,  to  use  about  the 
same  quantity  of  seed.  It  has  been  shown  by  numerous 
tests  throughout  the  corn  belt  that  a  stand  of  three  stalks  to 
the  hill,  as  a  rule,  gives  about  as  large  yields  as  can  be 
expected.  Where  tests  have  been  made  with  two,  three, 
and  four  stalks  to  the  hill,  the  yields  have  been  slightly 
larger  with  four  stalks  than  with  three,  and  much  larger 
with  four  or  three  than  with  only  two.  From  these  expe- 
riments, it  is  quite  safe  to  plan  on  at  least  three  stalks  to  the 


TYPES  OF  PLANTERS  71 

hill,  while  four  stalks  are  preferable  to  three.  A  six-year  ex- 
periment in  Nebraska  showed  that  with  one  plant  in  a  hill, 
there  were  161  ears  on  100  plants  and  a  yield  of  48.3  bushels 
per  acre,  while  the  maximum  yield  per  acre,  76.7  bushels, 
was  obtained  when  there  were  four  plants  in  a  hill  and  when 
the  number  of  ears  per  100  plants  was  only  82.  If  the  qual- 
ity of  seed  is  in  doubt,  four  kernels  should  be  planted  in 
each  hill  instead  of  two  or  three.  From  4  to  7  quarts  of 
seed  are  required  to  plant  an  acre.  In  dry  sections  and  on 
poor  land  thin  planting  is  desirable. 

A  large  number  of  tests  to  determine  the  distance  apart 
to  plant  corn  have  shown  that  slightly  larger  yields  are 
obtained  by  putting  the  rows  more  closely  together  than  is 
the  common  practice.  A  test  made  by  the  Illinois  Agri- 
cultural Experiment  Station  for  two  years  shows  a  yield 
of  58.3  bushels  to  the  acre  when  corn  was  planted  39)^  inches 
apart  each  way  with  three  kernels  to  the  hill,  as  compared 
with  53.9  bushels  from  hills  44  inches  apart  each  way,  three 
kernels  to  the  hill.  The  increased  yield  from  the  closer 
planting  in  this  case  was  a  little  more  than  sufficient  to  cover 
the  increased  cost  of  growing  corn  in  hills  393^  inches  apart 
each  way  over  that  in  44-inch  hills.  With  some  smaller 
varieties  grown  in  the  North,  better  results  can  be  obtained 
by  planting  from  36  to  40  inches  apart  each  way  than  plant- 
ing 44  inches  each  wa}^  In  the  corn  belt,  however,  it  is 
evident  that  the  practice  of  planting  corn  in  checked  rows 
44  inches  apart,  with  three  to  four  kernels  to  the  hill,  can 
hardly  be  improved.  On  poor  land  in  the  South  it  is  not 
uncommon  to  plant  corn  in  rows  as  wide  as  5  feet  apart. 

83.  Types  of  Planters.  Corn  is  often  planted  in  small 
patches  bj^  hand,  using  a  hoe  to  open  the  hills  and  to  cover 
the  kernels  after  they  have  been  dropped.  This  method  of 
planting  is  very  slow.  Hand  planters  are  sometimes  used 
but  they  are  very  inferior  to  the  two-row  horse  planter  which 
is  the  implement  always  used  where  any  considerable  acreage 


72  FIELD  CROP^ 

of  corn  is  grown.  From  12  1o  18  acres  may  be  planted  in  a 
day  by  one  man  and  two  horses  with  a  two-row  planter. 
Most  of  these  planters  may  be  used  for  either  checking  or 
drilling  corn.  There  are  two  types  of  horse  planters.  In 
the  round-hole  type,  the  desired  number  of  kernels  to  the 
hill  is  regulated  bj^  the  size  of  the  holes  in  the  disks  or  planter 
plates  used;  in  the  other,  the  edge-drop  planter,  the  number 
of  kernels  to  the  hill  is  regulated  by  the  number  of  places  in 
the  edge  of  the  disk,  each  of  which  will  permit  one  kernel  to 
enter  edgewise.  The  edge-drop  planter  is  more  accurate 
than  the  round-hole  planter  if  the  seed  corn  used  is  all  graded 
to  a  uniform  size,  but  with  irregular  kernels  of  corn  the  round- 
hole  type  is  to  l^e  preferred. 

CULTIVATION 

84.  Objects  of  Cultivation.  The  objects  of  cultivating 
corn  are  to  conserve  moisture,  to  liberate  plant  food,  and  to 
destroy  weeds.  As  previously  stated,  (Section  70),  it  is  cheaper 
to  do  as  much  of  the  cultivation  as  possible  before  the  crop 
is  planted.  The  labor  of  keeping  a  field  in  good  condition 
during  the  growth  of  the  crop  is  thus  greatly  reduced. 

85.  Harrowing.  There  is  considerable  difference  of 
opinion  as  to  the  advisability  of  harrowing  corn  land  after 
the  crop  is  planted.  During  the  first  day  or  tw^o  after 
planting,  it  may  be  harrowed  without  danger  of  injury,  but 
as  soon  as  the  kernels  begin  to  germinate  there  is  danger 
that  the  harrow  teeth  will  destroy  some  of  the  young  plants. 

It  seems  somewhat  inconsistent  to  spend  considerable 
effort  in  grading  and  testing  seed  corn  to  insure  a  perfect 
stand  and  then  take  the  risk  with  the  harrow  to  destroy 
from  0  to  10  per  cent  of  the  plants  at  one  operation.  One 
can  hardly  set  any  hard  and  fast  rules  for  the  care  of  corn, 
1  because  so  much  depends  on  the  soil  and  especially  on  the 
weather  conditions;  but,  if  planting  is  deferred  until  condi- 
tions are  favorable  and  the  seed  is  planted  only  on  soil  that 


BLIND  CULTIVATION  73 

is  in  thoroughly  good  condition,  harrowing  normally  will  be 
unnecessary.  If  cold,  rainy  weather  comes  on  after  the  corn 
is  planted,  however,  preventing  its  prompt  germination  and 
growth,  it  is  probably  better  to  harrow  the  field  and  keep 
the  soil  in  good  condition  than  to  allow  it  to  become  baked 
and  hard  and  to  permit  weeds  to  grow,  even  if  some  plants 
are  destroyed  by  this  treatment. 

86.  Blind  Cultivation.  In  many  instances,  blind  culti- 
vation,— that  is,  cultivating  the  corn  before  it  is  up  by 
following  the  rows,  as  indicated  by  the  planter  marks, — 
is  a  desirable  practice.  By  cultivating  as  soon  as  it  is  evident 
that  the  soil  should  be  stirred,  even  throwing  a  little  soil  on 
top  of  the  row,  its  condition  may  be  greatly  improved  and 
many  small  weeds  ma}^  be  destro^^ed  without  injuring  the 
small  corn  plants.     Thus  harrowing  can  often  be  obviated. 

87.  Use  of  the  Weeder.  The  weeder  is  often  used  during 
the  early  stages  of  cultivation  with  good  results.  The  weeder 
is  such  a  light  implement  that  unless  the  soil  is  in  fairly  good 
condition  it  cannot  do  much  work;  but  if  the  soil  has  been 
harrowed,  or  preferably,  blind-cultivated,  going  over  it  with 
a  weeder  will  destro}^  many  small  weeds  and  leave  the  soil 
soft  and  mellow  on  top  of  the  hills,  so  that  the  plants  can 
easily  push  their  way  out. 

88.  Types  of  Cultivators.  The  selection  of  tools  for  the 
cultivation  of  corn  may  be  influenced  to  a  considerable  degree 
by  personal  preference.  A  feAv  simple  principles  are  worthy 
of  consideration  in  the  selection  of  those  implements,  however. 
A  cultivator  is  used  to  loosen  the  soil,  sometimes  when  it  is 
rather  heavy  and  hard,  and  also  to  tear  out  rather  large  weeds 
which  should  not  be  in  a  corn  field,  but  which,  nevertheless, 
are  often  found  there.  It  is  evident,  then,  that  a  cultivator, 
to  be  useful  for  these  purposes,  must  have  strength  cap- 
able of  stirring  considerable  soil  to  a  reasonable  depth. 

The  types  of  sulky  cultivators  in  more  or  less  common 
use  include  those  with  two  shovels  on  each  side,  the  shovels 


74  FIELD  CROPS 

necessarily  being  large  to  cover  tne  ground;  those  with  three 
shovels  on  each  side,  the  individual  shovels  somewhat 
smaller  but  still  comparatively  large;  and  those  with  four 
or  more  rather  small  shovels  on  each  side.  There  are  also 
disk  cultivators  and  the  so-called  surface  cultivators  with 
flat  blades  instead  of  shovels  set  diagonally  and  run 
just  under  the  surface  of  the  ground. 

89.  Uses  of  Different  Types.  It  is  evident  that  some  of 
these  types  of  cultivators  are  better  adapted  to  some  con- 
ditions than  to  others,  and  that  all  have  their  place.  It 
is  also  evident  that  the  number  of  shovels,  the  size  of  shovels, 
their  arrangement,  and  the  way  they  pass  through  the  soil 
have  much  to  do  with  the  clogging  of  the  gangs  by  weeds 
or  other  refuse  that  may  be  in  the  soil.  Clogging  and  inabil- 
ity to  tear  up  heavy,  weedy  soil  are  some  of  the  objections 
to  cultivators  having  several  small  shovels  on  each  side. 
Those  having  two  or  three  rather  large  shovels  are  objection- 
able chiefly  because,  in  order  to  stir  thoroughly  all  the  ground 
over  which  they  pass,  it  is  often  necessary  to  run  the  shovels 
deeper  than  is  desirable,  with  the  result  that  the  corn  roots 
are  injured.  Surface  cultivators  are  ideal  so  far  as  avoiding 
root  injury  and  keeping  v/eeds  cut  off  below  the  surface  are 
concerned,  but  are  not  as  efficient  as  the  shovel  types  in 
loosening  the  soil,  in  working  very  weedy  land,  or  where  there 
is  much  coarse  manure.  On  this  account,  it  appears  that 
for  general  work  on  the  farm  a  cultivator  with  three  or  four 
moderate-sized  shovels  on  each  side,  set  diagonally  so  they 
are  not  likely  to  be  clogged  with  weeds  or  refuse,  is  the  more 
desirable  type  of  implement  for  general  use.  If  a  combi- 
nation machine  can  be  had,  on  which  blades  for  surface 
cultivation  and  sets  of  shovels  can  be  used  as  desired,  a  still 
better  implement  is  available. 

90.  Two-Row  Cultivators.  In  recent  years,  many  of 
the  larger  corn  growers  have  used  the  two-row  cultivators. 
These  are  certainly  economical,  as  where  the  soil  is  well 
prepared  and  the  planting  well  done,  a  man  can  handle  such 


dFjPtji  of  cultivation  75 

a  machine  practically  as  well  as  he  can  a  one-row  cultivator, 
thus  considerably  reducing  the  cost  of  cultivation. 

91.  One-Horse  Cultivators.  To  complete  any  equipment 
for  corn  cultivation,  a  fine-tooth,  one-horse  cultivator  should 
be  available  for  use  after  the  plants  are  too  high  to  culti- 
vate with  the  ordinary  tools.     The  surface  mulch  made  by 


Figure  27. — The  two-row  cultivator,  an  economical  implement  for  use  in  large 
fields  that  have  been  well  prepared. 

the  early  cultivation  given  is  often  entirely  eliminated  by 
a  heavy  rain;  then,  in  order  to  save  the  moisture  needed  for 
the  later  development  of  the  crop,  the  surface  of  the  soil 
must  be  stirred.  This  cultivation  can  best  be  done  with  a  fine- 
tooth,  one-horse  cultivator  that  stirs  the  surface  thoroughly 
and  yet  not  so  deep  as  to  injure  the  roots. 

92.  Depth  of  Cultivation.  It  is  impossible  to  state  any 
arbitrary  depth  at  which  it  is  desirable  to  cultivate  corn. 
The  object  of  the  cultivation  should  be  to  leave  the  soil  in  a 
loose,  mellow  condition  on  the  surface  and  to  destroy  any 
weeds  that  may  be  growing,  with  as  little  injury  as  possible 
to  the  corn  roots.  Anyone  may  convince  himself,  by  careful 
observation,  that  the  roots  of  corn  quite  thoroughly  occupy 


76  FIELD  CROPS 

the  entire  soil  area  between  the  rows  by  the  time  the  plants 
are  12  to  15  inches  high  (Figure  17).  As  the  roots  are  the 
chief  means  the  plant  has  of  obtaining  plant  food  and  mois- 
ture, it  is  plain  that  to  injure  any  of  these  roots  lessens  the 
feeding  area  and  the  food  supph'  of  the  corn  plant. 

Corn  roots  or,  in  fact,  the  i-oots  of  any  plants,  arc  sure  to 
grow  in  the  portion  of  th(^  soil  that  furnishes  the  best  con- 
ditions for  their  growth.  In  wet  years,  when  the  soil  is 
saturated  with  moisture,  there  is  likely  to  be  a  scarcity  of 
air  in  the  soil;  hence  the  roots  of  plants  will  grow  quite  near 
the  surface.  In  dry  years,  when  there  is  a  scarcity  of  mois- 
ture, especiallj^  in  the  surface,  the  roots  will  grow  deeper 
in  search  of  moisture.  It  is  thus  evident  that  it  is  safe 
to  cultivate  more  deeply  in  dry  years  than  in  wet  ones.  The 
depth  to  which  the  field  has  been  plowed  also  influences  the 
depth  at  wliich  roots  will  grow  most  abundantlj'. 

The  depth  of  cultivation  should  always  be  regulated  by 
the  depth  at  which  the  corn  roots  grow  and  by  the  necessity 
for  deep  cultivation,  such  as  weeds  or  a  heavy,  wet  condition 
of  the  soil.  If  deep  cultivation  must  be  practiced,  it  is 
safer  to  cultivate  deep  while  the  corn  plants  are  small.  They 
then  have  smaller  root  systems  and  are  injured  less  by  hav- 
ing some  of  the  roots  broken  off.  The  practice  followed  by 
the  best  corn  growers  at  present  is  to  cultivate  deep  at  the 
first  cultivation,  if  deep  cultivation  is  necessary  at  all,  and 
then  to  cultivate  as  shallow  as  is  consistent  with  keeping  the 
soil  in  good  condition  and  free  from  weeds. 

93.  Frequency  of  Cultivation.  If  care  is  exercised  not  to 
disturb  the  roots  of  the  corn  plant,  cultivating  often  enough 
to  keep  down  weeds  and  to  maintain  a  good  surface  mulch 
to  retain  moisture  is  desirable.  The  soil  can  usually  be 
kept  in  good  condition  bj-  cultivating  three  or  four  times, 
but  sometimes  six  or  even  eight  times  is  more  profitable. 

The  impression  used  to  be  quite  general  that  it  was  not 
advisable  to  cultivate  corn  after  it  had  tasseled.     There 


HARVESTING  CORN 


77 


were  two  principal  reasons  for  this  belief :  First,  sulky  culti- 
vators cannot  well  be  used  at  that  time;  second,  corn  growers, 
not  realizing  the  loss  that  might  come  from  cutting  off  corn 
roots,  found  that  cultivating  the  corn  after  it  had  reached 
that  state  usually  resulted  in  injury  rather  than  benefit  to 
the  crop.     It  has  now  been  quite  definitely  shown  that  this 


Figure    28. 


Hnsikinp   oorn   from   the   standing   stalks,   the  usual  method  of 
harvesting. 


injury  was  due  to  the  cutting  off  of  roots  and  to  no  other 
reason.  Many  good  corn  growers  now  find  it  very  profit- 
able to  go  through  their  corn  fields  quite  late  in  the  season 
with  a  one-horse,  fi.ne-tooth  cultivator  and  stir  the  surface 
soil  quite  thorough^,  thus  retarding  evaporation  and  giv- 
ing the  corn  a  larger  supply  of  moisture  at  the  time  it  is 
most  needed;  that  is,  when  it  is  forming  ears.  If  care  is 
exercised  not  to  cut  off  the  roots,  it  is  perfectly  safe  to  cul- 
tivate corn  at  any  time  during  the  growing  season. 

HARVESTING  CORN 

94.  Picking.     A  large  percentage  of  the  corn  grown  in  the 
corn  belt  is  harvested  by  picking  the  ears  from  the  standing 


78 


FIELD  CROPS 


stalks,  leaving  the  stalks  in  the  field  to  be  pastured  off  by 
stock  or  to  be  cut  up  and  plowed  under.  Corn  is  usually 
picked  by  hand.  One  man  uses  a  team  and  wagon  with  high 
''throw  board"  on  one  side  of  the  wagon  box;  the  team-  is 
driven  through  the  field  astride  one  row,  and  the  man  picks 


Figure  29. — The  corn  picker,  a  machine  for  gathering  the  ears  from  standing 
corn.     Not  yet  in  general   use. 


the  two  rows  at  the  side  of  the  wagon,  the  team  stepping 
ahead  slowly  as  the  husking  progresses.  The  high  board 
on  the  opposite  side  of  the  wagon  aids  the  husker  in  striking 
the  box.  From  these  wagons  the  corn  is  shoveled  into 
cribs,  where  it  is  stored  until  used.  In  the  South,  the  ears 
are  simply  snapped  from  the  stalks,  the  husks  being  left  on 
to  protect  the  grain  from  insects. 

During  the  last  few  years,  machine  pickers  have  been 
invented  and  are  now  in  use  to  some  extent.  These  machines 
must  be  driven  over  each  row  of  corn;  a  set  of  rolls  pulls  off 
the  ears  and  takes  off  the  husks;  the  husked  ears  are  then 
elevated  into  a  wagon  which  is  driven  beside  the  husker  as  it 


STORING  CORN  79 

goes  across  the  field.  These  machines,  of  course,  cannot 
husk  corn  under  all  conditions  as  clean  as  it  can  be  done  by 
hand,  but  the}^  reduce  the  man  labor  required  and  make  it 
possible  to  get  out  large  acreages  in  a  short  time. 

95.  Storing  Com.  Corn  cannot  be  stored  in  the  same 
manner  as  other  grains,  on  account  of  its  liability  to  heat.  It 
is  practically  impossible  to  store  a  large  quantity  of  it  together 
until  it  is  at  least  a  year  old,  without  great  danger  of  its  heat- 
ing and  spoiling. 

The  most  common  method  of  storing  corn  is  in  the  corn- 
crib,  a  narrow  bin  with  slatted  sides  so  that  air  can  circulate 
freely  through  it.  Two  and  one  half  cubic  feet  of  space  are 
required  for  a  bushel  of  corn  on  the  ear,  which  is  the  form  in 
which  it  can  most  safely  be  stored.  If  40  acres  of  corn  are 
produced  on  a  farm  of  160  acres  and  storage  room  must  be 
provided  for  30  acres  with  a  yield  of  50  bushels  to  the  acre, 
3,750  cubic  feet  of  space  are  required.  To  furnish  this  space, 
four  cribs  8  feet  deep  and  20  feet  long,  5  feet  wide  at  the  bot- 
tom and  7  feet  wide  at  the  top,  would  be  necessary.  If 
possible,  the  corncrib  should  be  raised  on  concrete  pillars 
high  enough  so  that  mice  and  rats  cannot  readil}^  get  into  it. 
The  bottom  should  be  tight,  to  save  the  corn  that  will  natur- 
ally shell  off  as  it  is  handled,  but  the  sides  are  commonly  made 
of  1  by  3  or  1  by  4  inch  material  nailed  on  to  the  studding 
with  an  inch  open  space  between  the  cleats.  Cribs  wider 
than  6  feet  should  have  some  provision  made  for  the  circu- 
lation of  air  through  the  middle.  This  may  be  easily  sup- 
plied by  standing  three  or  four  posts  erect,  and  placing 
woven  wire  around  these  so  as  to  make  a  spout  up  through 
the  center  of  the  crib.  The  spout  may  be  from  6  inches  to  2 
feet  across  and  should  extend  from  a  hole  through  the  floor 
of  the  crib  to  allow  free  circulation  of  air.  With  these  spouts 
placed  every  6  or  8  feet  through  the  center  of  the  crib,  it  is 
safe  to  make  the  crib  from  8  to  12  feet  wide.  Two  or  more 
cribs  may  be  placed  under  one  roof.     A  common  practice  is 


80 


FIELD  CROPS 


to  place  two  cribs  12  to  14  feet  apart,  cover  them  with  one 
roof,  and  use  the  driveway  between  them  for  a  wagonshed. 
96.  Handling  Bundle  Com.  Often  corn  is  not  husked, 
but  is  fed  in  the  bundle.  When  it  is  handled  in  this  way,  it  is 
cut  with  a  corn  binder  (Figure  32)  and  shocked.  It  is  then 
either  hauled  to  the  yards  as  it  is  fed  or  stacked  in  very 


Figure  30. — ►Shredding  curu  fodder  and  storing  it  in  the  barn  where  it  will  be 
convenient  for  feeding. 


narrow  ricks.     It  is  impractical  to  stack  corn  in  large  stacks, 
except  in  cold  weather,  as  it  is  likely  to  heat. 

97.  Shredded  Com  Stover.  In  some  instances,  corn  that 
has  been  cut  and  shocked  is  run  through  machines  called 
shredders,  which  husk  the  ears  and  tear  the  stalks  into  fine 
bits.  Cornstalks  are  not  made  more  palatable  by  running 
them  through  the  shredder,  but  they  are  made  much  more 
convenient  to  handle  and  the  corn  is  husked  by  machine 
power  instead  of  by  hand.  The  cost  of  shredding  the  corn 
is  fully  as  great  as  husking  the  shocked  corn  by  hand.     The 


COST  OF  STOVER  .  81 

advantages  of  the  process  are  that  the  work  is  quickly  done 
and  the  stover  is  in  better  condition  to  handle,  though  it  is 
often  quite  difficult  to  keep  it,  as  it  isveiy  likely  to  heat  or 
mold  if  it  is  not  thoroughly  dry  when  shredded. 

98.  Cost  of  Saving  Com  Stover.  It  sometimes  seems  very 
wasteful  to  see  large  fields  of  corn  in  which  the  stalks  have 
been  left  standing,  and  where  little  or  no  use  is  made  of  these 
stalks.  There  is  considerable  value  in  corn  stover,  yet  it  is 
quite  expensive  to  save  it.  Experiments  conducted  in  Min- 
nesota show  that  it  costs  $11.66  an  acre  to  grow  corn  where 
the  corn  is  husked  from  the  standing  stalks,  and  $15.30  an 
acre  where  the  corn  is  cut,  shocked  and  shredded.  Thus 
the  shredded  corn  stover  costs  $3.64  per  acre.  A  fair  yield 
of  corn  stover  is  from  \\i  to  XYi  tons  per  acre.  If  the  yield 
is  13/^  tons,  the  cost  per  ton  would  be  $2.43.  These  figures 
were  compiled  several  years  ago;  the  cost  of  production  of 
all  crops  is  now  (1918)  much  higher.  As  compared  with 
clover  hay  at  $8  a  ton,  corn  stover  has  been  shown  to  be  worth 
but  $3  a  ton.  To  make  cornstalks  or  corn  stover  pay  for 
the  cost  of  saving  them,  that  cost  should  not  be  more  than 
three  eighths  of  the  value  of  good  clover  hay.  In  a  good 
man}^  instances  it  is  not  economy  to  save  the  corn  stover, 
but  preferable  to  raise  clover  hay  for  feed.  When  forage 
is  high  in  price,  however,  and  clover  hay  is  worth  from  $8 
to  $12  per  ton,  it  pays  to  save  corn  stover. 

99.  Pasturing  Stalk  Fields.  The  practice  is  very  general 
throughout  the  corn  belt  of  allowing  stock  to  run  in  the  corn- 
fields after  the  corn  has  been  husked,  whenever  weather 
conditions  are  favorable  throughout  the  fall  and  winter. 
There  are  some  reports  of  injury  to  stock  by  this  practice,  but 
it  has  not  been  definitely  shown  that  the  injury  comes 
directly  from  the  cornstalks,  and  the  practice  is  still  con- 
tinued even  by  the  very  best  stockmen  and  corn  growers. 

100.  Hogging  Off  Com.  Constantly  increasing  acreages 
of  corn  are  being  harvested  by  simply  turning  hogs  into  the 


82 


FIELD  CROPS 


field  as  soon  as  the  corn  is  ripe  and  allowing  them  to  gather 
the  crop.  This  practice  may  seem  very  slovenly  and  waste- 
ful, but  careful  experiments  have  demonstrated  that  pork 
may  be  produced  economically  in  this  way;  that  is,  that  an 

acre  of  corn  will 
produce  fully  as 
much  and  usually 
a  little  more  pork 
if  the  hogs  are  al- 
lowed to  gather  it 
themselves  than  if 
it  is  husked  and 
fed  to  them  in  the 
yard.  If  hogs  are 
not  turned  into 
too  large  fields, 
the  waste  is  not 
great ;  in  fact,  they 
will  usually  gather 
the  corn  as  clean 
as  a  man.  The 
better  results 
which  are  some- 
times obtained 
from  this  method 
are  due,  perhaps, 
to  the  fact  that 
hogs  are  better 
contented  when 
allowed  to  run  at 
will  in  the  corn- 
field than  when 
confined,  and  also  because  the  corn  does  not  become  dry 
and  hard  and  is,  therefore,  a  little  easier  for  the  hogs  to 
masticate  than  after  it  has  ]:)een  husked  for  some  time. 


In 

<'■'] 

r 

1 

1^ 

w. 

■ -Ot-iMA^fe'^  '"T 

...^^^'^7^^".,. 

,.,.."-f-%.^,  ,^-^:^  IP ^^^^^^>-a- 

igure  31. — Jiiipi!  in  corn,  a  good  combination    where 
the  crop  is  to  be  "noggecl  off." 


FODDER  CORN  83 

When  corn  is  to  be  hogged  off,  it  is  a  very  common  prac- 
tice to  sow  rape,  cowpeas,  or  some  other  crop  between  the 
corn  rows  just  previous  to  the  last  cultivation  of  the  crop  and 
allow  the  hogs  to  pasture  the  green  feed  thus  produced  with 
the  corn.  .This  makes  a  more  balanced  ration  than  the  corn 
alone,  and  adds  to  the  total  feed  produced  to  the  acre. 

FODDER  CORN 

101.  Definitions.  Fodder  corn  is  corn  that  is  grown  for 
the  purpose  of  feeding  the  whole  plant — stalks,  leaves,  and 
ears — to  hve  stock.  Such  corn  is  usually  planted  more 
thickly  than  ordinary  field  corn,  so  that  the  stalks  will  be 
comparatively  fine  and  the  ears  few  and  small.  Bundle 
corn  is  corn  that  has  been  grown  for  ears,  but  cut,  shocked 
and  fed  out  of  the  bundle  in  the  same  manner  as  fodder  corn 
is  usually  fed.  Such  corn  usually  has  coarser  stalks  and  a 
larger  proportion  of  ears  than  fodder  corn.  Corn  stover 
is  the  stalks  of  corn  from  which  the  ears  have  been  husked 
and  the  stalks  left  to  be  fed  out  of  the  bundle  or  shredded. 

102.  Value  of  Com  Fodder.  Corn  is  such  a  thrifty, 
quick-growing  plant  that  there  are  few  other  common  crops 
which  can  compete  with  it  in  the  total  production  of  feed  to 
the  acre.  Owing  to  its  quick,  vigorous  growth  and  its 
palatability,  corn  is  very  largely  used  as  a  forage  crop. 
Corn  fodder,  properly  grown,  is  more  succulent  than  corn 
stover  or  hay.  On  this  account  it  is  more  palatable  than 
these  common  dry  feeds,  and  is  an  excellent  product  to  use 
as  part  of  the  roughage  for  live  stock.  It  is  worth  $6  a  ton 
for  feeding  when  clover  hay  is  worth  $8.80  a  ton.  A  fair 
yield  is  from  2}^  to  4  tons  to  the  acre.  Larger  yields  are 
sometimes  obtained  on  very  productive  land. 

103.  Importance.  So  far  as  its  feeding  value  and  yield 
are  concerned,  fodder  corn  is  an  excellent  crop  to  grow,  but 
on  the  general  farm  it  does  not  have  a  verj^  large  place,  owing 
to  the  fact  that  it  is  not  a  soil-building  crop  as  are  clover, 


84 


FIELD  CROPS 


timothy,  alfalfa,  and  the  other  grasses  that  are  usually  grown 
for  forage.  On  most  farms  where  as  much  of  these  grass 
crops  is  grown  as  is  advisable  in  a  good  system  of  cropping 
and  where  a  maximum  quantity  of  corn  for  grain  or  silage 
is  produced,  there  is  usually  enough  roughage  so  that  it  is 


Figure  32. — The  corn  binder  for  cutting  corn  for  fodder  or  silage.  Much 
corn  is  also  cut  by  hand  or  by  some  form  of  cutter  which  does  not  bind  it 
into  bundles. 


not  necessary  to  grow  fodder  corn.  It  has,  however,  great 
value  as  a  catch  crop.  In  years  when  one  has  failed  to  get 
a  catch  of  grass  or  when,  owing  to  drought,  the  hay  crop  is 
short,  it  is  often  advisal^le  to  plant  enough  fodder  corn  to 
insure  sufficient  roughage  to  meet  the  requirements  of  the 
live  stock  kept  on  the  farm. 

104.  Production  of  Fodder  Com.  Fodder  corn  will 
grow  on  soil  tliat  will  produce  any  of  the  common  farm 
crops,  though  for  its  best  growth  a  warm,  rich,  moist  soil  is 
desirable.  It  is  often  sown  in  low  places  that  can  not  be 
seeded  early  in  the  season.     The  seed  bed  for  fodder  corn 


STACKING  CORN  85 

should  be  prepared  in  the  same  manner  as  for  corn  that  is 
grown  for  ears.  Fodder  corn  is  usuallj^  planted  in  single  or 
double  drills  from  36  to  44  inches  apart,  at  the  rate  of  from  20 
to  50  pounds  to  the  acre.  It  may  be  planted  at  almost  any 
time  in  the  season  up  to  midsummer,  but  it  is  desirable  to 
plant  it  early  enough  so  that  the  plants  can  practically  reach 
maturit}^  before  frost. 

As  fodder  corn  is  usually  planted  later  in  the  season  than 
field  corn,  it  grows  very  rapidly  and  quickly  shades  the 
ground.  It  is,  therefore,  not  generall}^  necessary  to  give 
much  cultivation.  It  is  a  verj^  common  practice  to  harrow 
the  field  after  it  is  planted  and  then  cultivate  it  two  or  three 
times  until  the  corn  shades  the  ground  sufficiently  to  check 
the  growth  of  weeds  and  retard  the  evaporation  of  moisture. 

105.  Harvesting.  Fodder  corn  is  commonly  harvested 
with  a  corn  binder  when  the  crop  shows,  either  by  the  small 
ears  that  it  ma}^  have  produced  or  by  the  drying  of  the 
leaves,  that  it  is  practically  mature.  If  the  weather  is 
exceedingly  wet,  it  is  sometimes  necessary  to  shock  first  in 
small  shocks  and  later  to  put  two  or  three  of  the  small  shocks 
into  one  larger  one.  In  shocking,  it  is  desirable  to  employ 
some  sj^stem.  It  is  a  good  plan  to  set  up  two  pairs  of  bundles, 
all  leaning  together,  then  to  set  l^undles  around  these  in  a 
systematic  manner  until  from  12  to  24  have  been  put  into 
the  shock.  Care  should  be  used  to  put  approximately  the 
same  number  of  launches  on  each  side  and  to  set  them  up 
firm  and  snug  so  that  the  shock  will  be  evenly  balanced  and 
will  stand  straight.  The  shocks  should  l)e  tied  securely 
near  the  top  to  help  in  keeping  out  the  rain  and  to  prevent 
them   from   being   blown   down. 

106.  Stacking.  Owing  to  the  large  percentage  of  mois- 
ture eontained  in  fodder  corn,  it  is  seldom  possible  to  stack 
it  so  that  it  will  keep,  except  in  very  cold  weather.  This 
fact  is  one  of  the  objectionable  features  of  the  crop.  It  may 
be  set  on  end  one  bundle  deep  in  a  mow  or  shed  with  perfect 


86 


FIELD  CiWl\S 


safety,  but  it  is  not  safe  to  stack  it  or  to  put  it  in  large  piles. 
The  method  most  commonly  followed  is  to  reshock  in  the 
fields  into  large,  well-made  shocks  when  it  is  cured  and  to 
haul  it  to  the  feed  lots  only  as  used. 

CORN  FOR  SILAGE 

107.  Importance.  Corn  silage  is  coining  to  play  a  more  and 
more  prominent  part  in  the  economy  of  the  farm.     It  is  well 

understood  that,  on  ac- 
count of  the  important 
relation  of  live  stock  to 
soil  fertility,  the  highest 
type  of  permanent  agri- 
culture can  be  applied  on 
the  majority  of  farms 
onl}^  when  a  reasonable 
number  of  domestic  ani- 
mals is  kept.  If  live 
stock  is  to  be  kept  on 
the  farm  profitably,  it  is 
highly  important  that  it 
be  supplied  with  an 
abundance  of  feed  at  all 
seasons  of  the  year  and 
that  this  feed  be  as  eco- 
nomical as  is  consistent  with  good  feeding.  No  feed  has  yet 
been  discovered  that  gives  better  results,  under  ordinary  farm 
conditions,  than  that  from  pastures;  but  pastures  suppl}^  feed 
for  live  stock  only  a  portion  of  the  year,  and  can  not  always  be 
relied  upon  even  then.  The  next  cheapest  feed,  so  far  as  cost 
of  production  is  concerned,  is  clover  or  alfalfa  hay,  and 
these  are  followed  by  corn  fodder. 

Neither  pasture  nor  the  ordinary  hay  crops  are  as  certain 
to  yield  profitably  as  is  a  well-cultivated  corn  crop.  Stock 
raisers  are  rapidly  realizing  that  corn  is  the  most  reliable 


^:    ^ 

1^ 

lliilll 

1 1  i^E^^^^^^hI 

<^        ^ 

—    --f  , 

i^fd^i^r^i^^^s*^ 

%^^^^  '^'^^ 

BIH 

Figure  33. — Filling  the  silo.  The  whole  corn 
plant  is  preserved  for  feeding  without  waste. 
The  silo  is  becoming  more  and  more  im- 
portant wherever  corn  is  grown. 


CORN  FOR  SILAGE  87 

grain  and  roughage  crop  and  that  the  most  satisfactory 
way  of  storing  a  good  portion  of  this  crop,  where  it  is  to  be 
fed  on  the  farm,  is  by  means  of  a  silo.  The  silo  has  been 
shown  to  help  very  effectively  in  cases  of  shortage  of  pasture 
and  failure  of  clover  and  other  hay  crops.  Corn  silage  is  not 
only  a  sure  crop,  but  it  is  a  very  palatable,  nutritious,  suc- 
culent feed,  that  supplies,  throughout  the  winter  and  during 
dry  times  in  the  summer,  much  the  same  feed  conditions  as 
are  afforded  by  good  pastures. 

108.  The  Production  of  Silage.  Corn  for  silage  may  be 
grown  on  any  good,  tillable  land,  especially  any  land  that  is 
well  adapted  to  the  production  of  an  ordinary  corn  crop. 
Corn  for  silage  is  most  commonly  grown  in  the  same  manner 
as  corn  for  grain,  though  those  who  have  had  most  experience 
with  silage  plant  about  one  half  thicker,  either  in  drills  or  on 
hills,  than  for  ear  corn.  The  cultivation  of  corn  for  silage  is 
the  same  as  that  commonly  given  to  corn  for  grain. 

The  varieties  of  corn  that  seem  to  give  best  results  in 
the  production  of  silage  in  a  given  locality  are  usually  those 
that  give  the  best  yields  of  grain.  As  good  silage  can  be 
made  only  from  corn  that  is  practically  mature,  it  is  unwise 
to  use  any  of  the  large,  coarse-growing  varieties  in  sections 
where  they  cannot  complete  their  growth. 

109.  Harvesting  for  Silage.  When  the  corn  is  ripe 
enough  to  cut  and  shock  for  ear  corn,  or  when  the  ears  are 
well  dented  but  before  the  leaves  and  stalks  are  dry,  it  is 
ready  for  the  silo.  It  is  commonly  cut  with  a  corn  binder, 
then  loaded  on  low  wagons  and  hauled  at  once  to  the  cutter, 
where  it  is  cut  into  small  bits  and  blown  into  the  silo.  The 
silo  is  simply  an  air-tight  receptacle,  built  strong  enough 
to  hold  this  heavy,  green  material. 

No  preservative  is  applied  to  silage.  It  is  simply  pro- 
tected from  the  air,  hence  it  cannot  spoil.  The  surface  and 
any  parts  that  may  be  exposed,  as  by  a  hole  in  the  silo,  are 
quickly  sealed  over  by  the  molding  of  a  few  inches  of  the  corn. 


88  FIELD  CROPS 

110.  Cost  and  Feeding  Value.  Statistics  gathered  in 
Minnesota  show  that  it  normally  costs  from  $18  to  $20 
an  acre,  including  rent,  to  grow  and  store  silage.  A  fair 
yield  is  from  9  to  12  tons  to  the  acre.  Silage  may  be  fed 
to  all  classes  of  live  stock,  and  is  highly  prized  by  all  who 
have  had  experience  with  a  good  quality  of  it.  Compared 
with  clover  hay,  a  ton  of  silage  is  worth  $4  when  clover 
hay  is  worth  $12.  With  clover  hay  at  this  price,  an  acre 
of  average  corn  stored  in  the  silo  is  worth  approximately  $40. 

111.  Stacking  Silage.  In  some  parts  of  the  country 
where  silos  have  not  3^et  been  introduced,  corn  grown  for 
silage  is  cut  and  stacked  green  out  of  doors  with  veiy  good 
results.  The  stacks  are  usually  made  round,  with  the  butts 
of  the  bundles  out.  The  ears  may  be  stripped  from  the  outer 
row  of  bundles  and  thrown  into  the  middle  of  the  stack  so 
that  the  butts  can  be  packed  more  closely  together.  The 
stacks  should  be  made  as  solid  as  possible  and  should  be  12 
or  more  feet  in  diameter  and  12  or  more  feet  high.  The 
higher  the  stacks  are,  if  built  so  that  they  will  not  lean,  the 
bettei*.  When  these  stacks  are  built  they  are  usually,  though 
not  always,  weighted  down  with  earth  and  stones  or  with 
patented  compressors  to  facilitate  their  settling. 

The  outer  part  of  the  stack  spoils  by  molding  and  thus 
seals  up  the  inner  part  and  provides  the  same  conditions 
afforded  by  a  silo.  The  outer  spoiled  part  is  cut  off  and  only 
the  inner  part,  or  good  silage,  is  fed.  While  considerable  corn 
is  wasted  by  this  method,  it  provides  a  cheap  form  of  succu- 
lent feed  and  does  well  until  silos  may  be  afforded. 

MARKETING  AND  RETURNS 

112.  Marketing.  Corn  is  commonly  sold  from  the  farm 
on  the  ear,  though  it  is  sometimes  shelled  before  it  is  mar- 
keted. The  usual  practice  is  to  sell  the  ear  corn  to  local 
dealers,  who  store  it  or  shell  and  ship  it.  Corn  is  generally 
shelled  before  it  is  shipped,  because  shelled  corn  occupies 


MARKET  GRADES  89 

only  about  half  as  much  space  as  the  same  quantity  of 
ear  corn.  No  treatment  is  ordinarily  given  to  the  grain  on 
the  farm;  it  is  sold  as  it  comes  from  the  crib.  When  shipped 
from  the  local  buyer  to  the  central  market,  some  of  the  dirt 
is  taken  out  in  shelling,  but  no  large  proportion  of  it  is 
removed.  On  account  of  the  method  of  harvesting,  however, 
corn  is  usually  quite  free  from  weed  seeds  and  other  foreign 
matter.  A  large  part  of  the  crop  is  fed  on  the  farms  or  in  the 
communities  where  it  is  produced.  The  average  shipments 
out  of  the  country  where  it  is  grown  do  not  exceed  one 
fifth  of  the  crop.  Illinois,  Nebraska,  Ohio,  and  Indiana 
show  the  largest  percentages  of  shipments. 

The  legal  weight  of  a  bushel  of  shelled  corn  is  56  pounds; 
of  corn  on  the  ear,  70  pounds.  If  corn  is  sold  within  a  short 
time  after  it  is  harvested,  while  it  still  contains  a  high  per- 
centage of  moisture,  it  is  customary  to  allow  75  or  even  80 
pounds  to  the  bushel.  Ordinary  air-dry  corn  will  shell 
about  56  pounds  of  grain  to  70  pounds  of  ears,  but  an  extra 
good  sample  may  shell  as  much  as  60  pounds.  Corn  that 
is  held  over  is  likely  to  shrink  about  18  per  cent. 

113.  Market  Grades.  Market  grades  of  corn  are  fixed 
by  the  Federal  Bureau  of  Markets,  which  divides  market 
corn  into  three  general  classes,  white,  j^ellow,  and  mixed. 
White  corn  must  be  at  least  98  per  cent  white  by  weight; 
yellow  corn  must  be  at  least  95  per  cent  yellow  by  weight; 
and  mixed  corn  includes  all  corn  not  coming  within  the 
limits  of  the  two  classes  just  named.  These  three  classes 
are  then  divided  into  seven  grades  for  each  class,  known  as 
No.  1  white.  No.  1  yellow,  No.  2  white.  No.  3  mixed,  etc. 
The  lowest  grade  is  known  as  sample  grade.  No.  1  corn 
of  each  class  shall  be: 

Cool,  and  sweet,  shall  have  a  test  weight  per  bushel  of  at  least 
55  pounds,  may  contain  not  more  than  14  per  cent  of  moisture,  may 
contain  not  more  than  2  per  cent  of  foreign  material  and  cracked  com, 
and  may  contain  not  more  than  2  per  cent  of  damaged  corn  and  no 
heat-damaged  kernels. 


90  FIELD  CROPS 

Specifications  for  No.  2,  No.  o,  No.  4,  No.  5,  and  No.  6 
in  each  class  are  similar,  differing  as  follows: 

The  minimum  test  weights  per  bushel  are,  No.  2,  53  pounds;  No. 
3,  51  pounds;  No.  4,  49  pounds;  No.  5,  47  pounds;  No.  6,  44  pounds. 

The  maximum  percentages  of  moisture  are,  No.  2,  14;  No.  3,  15.5; 
No.  4,  17.5;  No.  5,  21.5;  and  No.  6,  23.0. 

The  maximum  percentages  of  foreign  matter  and  cracked  corn  are. 
No.  2,  3;  No.  3,  4;  No.  4,  5;  No.  5,  6;  and  No.  6,  7. 

The  maximum  percentages  of  damaged  kernels  are,  No.  2,  4;  No. 

3,  6;  No.  4,  8;  No.  5,  10;  and  No.  6,  15.     Of  these,  0.1  per  cent  may  he 
heat  damaged  in  No.  2  corn,  0.3  per  cent  in  No.  3,  0.5  per  cent  in  No. 

4,  1  per  cent  in  No.  5,  and  3  per  cent  in  No.  6. 

Sample  grade  corn  is  any  corn  which  does  not  come  within  the  re- 
quirements of  any  of  the  grades  from  No.  1  to  No.  6,  inclusive,  or  which 
has  any  commercially  objectionable  foreign  odor,  or  is  heating,  hot,  in- 
fested with  hve  weevils  or  other  insects  injurious  to  stored  grain,  or  is 
otherwise  of  distinctively  low  quality. 

Corn  of  No.  6  grade  may  he  musty  or  sour;  all  higher  grades  must 
be  cool  and  sweet. 

The  greater  part  of  the  corn  which  reaches  the  Chicago 
market  is  No.  2  and  No.  3  ^^ellow,  the  quantities  of  these  two 
grades  usualty  being  about  the  same.  Three  or  four  times 
as  much  yellow  as  white  corn  is  marketed  in  Chicago.  The 
usual  difference  in  feeding  value  between  No.  2  and  No.  3 
corn  is  about  2  cents  a  bushel,  but  the  difference  in  market 
price  may  consideral  )ly  exceed  this  figure.  The  lowest 
price  recorded  for  No.  2  corn  on  the  Chicago  market  in  the 
five  years  from  1913  to  1917  was  461^  cents  in  1913;  the  high- 
est, $2.36  in  1917.  The  average  of  the  annual  lowest  prices  for 
the  five  years  was  65.6  cents;  of  the  highest  prices,  118.7  cents. 

114.  Exports.  Though  the  United  States  produces 
about  three  fourths  of  the  world's  crop  of  corn,  a  veiy  small 
portion  of  the  crop  is  normally  exported.  In  the  five  years 
from  1909  to  1913,  the  average  annual  exportation  of  corn 
from  the  United  States  was  45.054,000  bushels,  while  Argen- 
tina exported  115,749,000  bushels  annually  during  this  period. 
No  other  country  was  a  considerable  factor  in  the  world's 
trade  in  corn,  the  two  just  named  furnishing  about  60  per 


COST  OF  PRODUCTION 


91 


cent  of  the  entire  quantity.  The  exportation  from  the  United 
States  represents  only  about  1.5  per  cent  of  the  production 
during  the  period  just  mentioned,  while  the  annual  expor- 
tations  since  1901  have  not  exceeded  4.4  per  cent  of  the 
crop  in  any  one  year.  The  tendency  is  for  the  percentage 
exported  to  decrease  rather  than  to  increase,  except  that 


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Figure    34. —  Reid'3  yellow  dent  corn,  a  large,  yellow  variety  which  has  been 
carefully  selected  for  many  years. 

under  war  conditions  the  export  demand  has  greatly  in- 
creased. The  principal  ports  from  which  corn  is  shipped 
are  New  York,  Baltimore,  New  Orleans  and  Galveston. 

115.  Cost  of  Production.  The  best  available  informa- 
tion on  the  cost  of  producing  corn  is  that  contained  in  the 
April,  1911,  Crop  Reporter,  published  by  the  Bureau  of 
Crop  Estimates  of  the  U.  S.  Department  of  Agriculture.  In 
this  number,  the  reports  of  about  6,000  correspondents  in 
all  parts  of  the  country  are  tabulated.  The  figures  are  for 
the  cost  of  producing  corn  in  1909.  The  average  of  all 
the  reports  shows  that  it  cost  $12.27  to  produce  an  acre  of 
corn  in  that  year;  as  the  average  yield  was  32.4  bushels, 


92 


FIELD  CROPS 


the  bushel  cost  was  37.9  cents.  The  items  which  went  to 
make  up  this  cost  of  $12.27  to  the  acre  were:  Fertihzers, 
82  cents;  preparation  of  land,  $2.11;  seed,  24  cents;  planting, 
44  cents;  cultivation,  $2.24;  gathering  $2.20;  miscellaneous, 
47  cents;  land  rental  or  interest,  $3.75.  The  relative  impor- 
tance of  these  items  naturally  varies  somewhat  in  different 
sections  of  the  United  States,  the  fertilizer  cost  being  high 
in  the  East  and  South  and  little  or  nothing  in  the  Central 
and  Western  states,  while  other  items  show  some  differences. 
The  cost,  value,  and  difference  between  value  and  cost 
for  the  different  sections  are  shown  in  Table  V.  At  the 
present  time  (1918),  on  account  of  general  economic  as  well 
as  war  conditions,  all  production  costs  are  at  least  50  per 
higher  than  those  shown  here. 

Table  V.  Acre  cost  of  production  of  corn,  acre  valuey  and  difference 
between  value  and  cost  for  the  United  States  and  for  the  different 
sections  of  the  country  in  the  year  1909. 


Section 

Acre  cost 

Acre    value 

Difference 

North  Atlantic  states 

Dollars 

20.44 
14.43 
11.29 
14.07 
10.5S 
11.66 
12.27 

Dollars 

30.17 
22.10 
17.14 
23.43 
17.73 
20.42 
20.09 

Dollars 

9.73 

South  Atlantic  states 

7.67 

South  Central  states 

5  85 

East  North  Central  states 

9.36 

West  North  Central  states 

7.15 

Far  Western  states  

8.76 

The  United  States 

7.82 

As  the  table  shows,  there  was  not  a  wide  range  between 
the  different  sections  in  the  matter  of  difference  between 
cost  and  value,  the  extremes  being  $5.85  to  the  acre  in  the 
South  Central  and  $9.73  in  the  North  Atlantic  states. 
Where  the  cost  of  production  was  highest,  in  the  North 
Atlantic  states,  the  difference  between  value  and  cost  was 
also  highest,  due  to  high  yield  and  high  price  to  the  bushel. 
In  Illinois  and  Iowa,  the  two  states  of  largest  production,  the 
respective  figures  were:  Acre  cost,  $13.25  and  $12.39; 
bushel  cost,  31  and  30  cents;  value  less  cost,  $9.38  and  $8.43. 


CORN  IN  ROTATION  93 

116.  Acre  Value.  The  average  annual  value  of  an  acre 
of  corn  for  the  United  States  for  the  five  years  from  1912 
to  1916  was  $16.94,  but  in  1917  it  was  $33.85.  The  highest 
value  is  shown  in  the  North  Atlantic  states,  the  Far  Western 
and  the  South  Central  states  ranking  next  in  order.  The 
average  acre  value  in  Illinois  for  the  five  years  from  1912 
to  1916  was  $19.06  and  in  Iowa,  $20.17.  In  1917  the  acre 
values  in  these  two  states  were  $41.80 and  $39.96,  respectively. 
The  highest  acre  value  in  1917  was  in  Connecticut,  $109.65; 
the  lowest,  in  Oklahoma,  $12.50.  This  low  acre  value  was 
due  to  low  average  yield,  8.5  bushels,  caused  by  drought. 

CORN  IN  CROP  ROTATIONS 

117.  Corn  Decreases  Fertility.  It  is  well  known  that 
if  a  piece  of  land  that  has  been  cropped  to  grain  for  a  number 
of  years  is  planted  to  corn  and  cultivated  well,  better  crops 
of  grain  will  be  produced  on  the  field  the  following  year  or 
years.  This  has  led  to  the  belief  that  corn  is  a  soil-building 
crop.  Tests  conducted  at  many  experiment  stations  where 
corn  has  been  grown  on  the  same  plat  continuously  for  a 
number  of  years  without  fertilizer  show  that  the  produc- 
tivity of  the  plats  has  gradually  decreased  until  very  poor 
yields  result.  In  fact,  these  experiments  show  that  the 
productivity  of  the  soil  is  more  rapidly  decreased  by  corn 
than  by  grain  crops.  These  two  facts  seem  somewhat  con- 
trary, but  when  studied  prove  to  be  just  what  might  rea- 
sonably be  expected. 

118.  Cultivation  Liberates  Plant  Food.  As  stated  else- 
where, plant  food  is  made  solul)le  or  available  for  plants  very 
largely  by  the  decomposition  of  vegetable  matter.  Vege- 
table matter  can  decompose  or  rot  only  when  in  the  pres- 
ence of  air  and  moisture.  Hay  in  the  mow  does  not  rot, 
because  it  is  kept  dry.  Silage  in  the  silo  does  not  rot,  be- 
cause ail  is  kept  away  from  it.  Vegetable  matter  in  the  soil, 
that  is,  manure  and  roots  and  stems  of  plants,  will  naturally 


94 


FIELD  CROPS 


decompose  more  rapidly  if  proper  conditions  of  air  and  mois- 
ture are  maintained  than  when  they  are  not  present. 

The  corn  crop  is  commonly  cultivated  throughout  the 
growing  season.  This  cultivation  aerates  the  soil  and  con- 
serves moisture,  hence  decomposition  takes  place  more 
rapidly  in  a  cultivated  field  than  in  a  field  that  is  not  culti- 


Figure  35. — Ear  of  Boone  County  White  corn.  A  popular  white  dent  variety 
in  southern  Indiana,  Illinois,  and  Iowa  and  northern  Missouri.  Grown 
to  some  extent  in  the  South. 

vated.  This  rapid  decomposition  caused  by  cultivation 
liberates  large  quantities  of  plant  food.  On  this  account, 
planting  a  field  to  corn  stimulates  the  liberation  of  plant 
food  and  naturally  leaves  the  soil  richer  in  available  plant 
food  for  succeeding  crops.  This  may  easily  account  for 
the  larger  yields  which  usually  follow  cropping  a  field  for 
one  year  to  corn.  It  is  evident,  however,  that  if  the  field  is 
planted  to  corn  year  after  year,  the  supply  of  vegetable  mat- 
ter will  be  quite  rapidly  depleted,  so  that  the  soil  will  soon 
fail  to  respond  to  the  stimulation  of  cultivation.  Thus, 
when  a  field  is  planted  for  a  number  of  years  in  succession, 
it  rapidly  decreases  in  productivity. 


IMPORTANCE  IN  ROTATION. 


85 


119.  Importance  of  Com  in  the  Rotation.  Owing  to  the 
stimulating  and  tlie  cleaning  effects  of  cultivation  on  the  soil 
and  the  influence  the  crop  has  on  the  number  of  hve  stock 
kept,  by  furnishing  an  abundance  of  cheap  and  desirable 
feed,  corn  has  a  very  important  relation  to  the  cropping 
system   of   the   farm.     Diversification,    rotation    of   crops, 


Figure  36. — Minnesota  No.  13,  a  type  of  yellow  dent  corn  adapted  to  the  North- 
ern states,  improved  by  the  Minnesota  Agricultural  Experiment  Station. 

and  the  keeping  of  live  stock  usually  lead  to  increased  pro- 
duction and  larger  farm  profits. 

120.  Rotations  Which  Include  Corn.  One  of  the  very 
common  and  desirable  rotations  for  corn  is  the  following: 
First  year,  grain;  second  year,  clover;  third  year,  corn. 
This  rotation  is  giving  good  results,  especially  on  some  of  the 
lighter  soils.  On  heavier  soils,  there  is  danger,  if  the  corn 
and  clover  are  fed  on  the  farm  and  the  manure  returned  to 
the  land,  that  the  soil  will  become  so  rich  that  the  grain 
crop  following  the  corn  will  lodge.  It  is,  however,  an  excel- 
lent system  of  rotation  for  building  up  run-down  soils. 
When  they  are  so  built  up  that  difficulty  is  experienced  in  the 


96  FIELD  CROPS 

lodging  of  grain  crops,  the  rotation  may  be  made  longer  by 
growing  corn  two  years  in  succession.  This  plan  makes  the 
rotation  a  four-year  one,  as  follows:  First  year,  grain; 
second  year,  clover;  third,  and  fourth  years,  corn.  Owing 
to  the  strong  feeding  habits  of  the  crop  and  to  the  rapid 
decomposition  of  vegetable  matter  which  takes  place  in  corn 
fields,  two  years  of  corn  will  usually  reduce  the  available 
plant  food  in  the  soil  sufficiently  to  permit  the  growth  of  the 
proper   grain   crop   without   danger  from   lodging. 

Corn  may  be  used  in  combinations  in  rotations,  depend- 
ing entirely  upon  the  needs  of  the  farm.  A  four-year  rota- 
tion adapted  to  a  farm  on  which  it  is  desired  to  grow  a  com- 
paratively large  quantity  of  grain  might  be  as  follows: 
First  year,  grain;  second  year,  clover;  third  year,  corn; 
fourth  year,  grain.  If  desirable,  another  grain  crop  might 
be  added,  which  would  make  a  five-year  rotation  with  one 
year  of  corn,  one  year  of  clover,  and  three  years  of  grain. 
Unless  considerable  quantities  of  fertilizer  were  applied, 
such  a  rotation  would  by  no  means  maintain  the  produc- 
tivity of  the  soil.  Another  practical  five-year  rotation  in- 
cluding corn  is:  First  year,  grain;  second  year,  meadow; 
third  year,  pasture;  fourth  year,  corn;  fifth  year,  grain. 
In  the  Southern  states,  corn  ranks  second  only  to  cotton 
in  importance.  These  two  crops  are  almost  alwa3^s  included 
in  any  rotation  which  is  devised  for  this  section.  Cowpeas 
are  quite  generally  grown  to  add  nitrogen  and  are  sometimes 
plowed  under  to  increase  the  vegetable  matter  in  the  soil. 
They  are  often  planted  with  the  corn,  either  in  rows  or 
between  them  at  the  last  cultivation.  A  very  good  rotation 
for  the  South  is:  First  year,  corn  and  cowpeas;  second 
year,  cotton  followed  by  winter  grain;  third  year,  grain, 
followed  by  cowpeas  for  hay. 

In  Chapter  XXVI  the  general  subject  of  the  rotation  of 
crops  is  discussed  in  its  broader  aspects. 


SELECTION  OF  SEED  CORN  9? 

SELECTION  OF  SEED  CORN 

121.  Importance  of  Good  Seed.  One  of  the  important 
factors  in  the  production  of  a  good  crop  of  corn  is  good  seed; 
that  is,  seed  of  the  desired  type,  carefully  selected  from  corn 
adapted  to  the  locality,  and  stored  so  that  it  will  remain  good. 
There  is  no  doubt  that  it  is  possible,  in  nearly  every  com- 
munity, to  obtain  greatly  increased  yields  of  corn  simply 
by  giving  careful  attention  to  the  matter  of  the  selection  and 
the  care  of  the  seed.  While  good  crops  may  be  produced 
from  only  fairly  good  seed  if  soil  and  other  conditions  are 
favorable,  it  is  the  universal  result  that  where  carefully 
selected  seed  is  used,  increased  yields  are  obtained.  Weather 
conditions  are  often  unfavorable  at  planting  time,  and  only 
seed  of  strong  vitality  can  be  depended  upon  to  withstand 
these  unfavorable  conditions  and  send  forth  good,  strong 
plants.  Time  spent  in  selecting  seed  corn  is,  as  a  rule,  the 
most  profitable  that  is  devoted  to  the  corn  crop. 

122.  Quantity  of  Seed  to  Select.  From  fifteen  to 
twenty  ears  of  corn  are  required  to  plant  an  acre.  When 
selecting  corn  by  the  ordinary  field  method,  it  is  not  possible 
to  make  as  careful  a  selection  as  is  desired  for  the  final  seed 
for  planting.  On  this  account  it  is  recommended  that  at 
least  fifty  ears  of  corn  be  selected  for  each  acre  of  corn  it  is 
planned  to  grow  the  following  year.  This  will  leave  margin 
enough  for  careful  selection  the  following  spring,  and  the 
seed  thus  discarded  can  often  be  sold  to  advantage  or  used 
as  fodder  corn  seed. 

123.  Time  to  Select.  The  time  of  selection  will  naturally 
depend  largely  upon  the  locality.  Corn  gains  nothing 
by  being  left  in  the  field  after  it  is  mature  and  the  sooner  it  is 
gathered  and  placed  under  cover  to  dry  out,  where  it  will 
not  be  affected  by  the  weather,  the  better  it  will  be  for  seed 
purposes.  In  the  North,  it  is  extremely  important  that  corn 
be  selected  early  enough  in  the  fall  to  allow  ample  time  for  it 

7 — 


98 


FIELD  CROn 


to  become  dry  before  frocziiip;  wcailier.  For  lliis  reason  it 
is  veiy  advisable,  if  one  does  not  have  suitable  storage, 
to  select  corn  just  as  soon  as  it  is  well  ripened. 

Another  important  factor  in  favor  of  early  selection,  es- 
pecially in  the  North,  is  that  one  may  choose  the  ears  from 

plants  that  have  a  tend- 
ency to  ripen  early.  Al- 
most universally,  some 
ears  and  plants  mature 
from  a  few  days  to  two 
or  three  weeks  earlier 
than  some  of  the  other 
ears  and  plants.  If  the 
seed  is  selected  from  these 
plants,  there  is  a  tend- 
ency to  fix  the  character 
of  early  maturity.  If  the 
corn  is  not  selected  until 
all  the  plants  are  mature 
or  until  they  have  all  been 
killed  by  frost,  it  is  not 
possible  to  tell  the  early 
maturing  ears  from  those 
that  matured  later.  If 
selection  is  deferred  and 
the  season  happened  to  ])e  favorable,  so  that  the  corn  con- 
tinued to  grow  for  a  week  or  more  after  the  date  of  the  first 
killing  frost,  ears  might  be  selected  that  matured  eight  or  ten 
days  after  that  date.  Corn  planted  from  such  seed  the  follow- 
ing year  is  likely  to  be  killed  by  frost  before  the  main  part 
of  the  crop  is  matured. 

Another  advantage  of  early  selection,  while  the  plants 
are  all  in  their  normal  condition,  is  that  it  is  possible  at  that 
time  to  give  attention  to  the  character  of  the  plant  on  which 
the  ear  grew,  which  is  an  important  factor  in  gettmg  the 


Figure  .37. — The  kind  of  corn   which  should 
not  be  used  for  spcd. 


PRIZE  EARS  OF  CORN  99 

best  possible  seed  corn.  The  stalk  should  be  vigorous,  of 
medium  height,  and  not  alone  in  the  hiil.  The  ear  selected 
should  be  of  medium  size,  mature,  and  hang  tip  downward 
from  a  medium  height. 

124.  How  to  Select.  In  the  North,  it  is  important  to 
select  seed  as  soon  as  the  crop  is  ripened  and  before  it  is 
practical  to  husk  the  crop.  The  following  method  of  selec- 
tion is  commonly  practiced:  Go  into  the  field  from  which 
the  selection  is  to  be  made,  with  a  common  sack  swung  over 
one  shoulder  by  means  of  a  string  so  that  the  open  end  will 
be  directly  in  front  of  the  body  and  so  that  both  hands  will 
be  free  to  use.  Then,  by  walking  between  two  rows,  ears 
of  desirable  appearance  can  be  examined  and  the  good  ones 
husked  and  put  into  the  sack.  Selection  can  be  made  quite 
rapidly  in  this  way.  It  is  desirable  to  have  a  wagon  at  the 
end  of  the  field  into  which  the  sack  may  be  emptied  when  it 
gets  too  heavy  to  carry  comfortably.  One  man  can  easily 
select  five  hundred  ears  of  corn  in  a  day  in  this  way  and  do 
reasonably  careful  work. 

Allowing  fifty  ears  of  this  field-selected  seed  to  each  acre 
which  is  to  be  planted  the  following  spring,  one  would  select 
enough  in  this  manner  in  one  day  to  plant  ten  acres.  Allow- 
ing $2  a  day  for  labor,  the  extra  cost  of  seed  corn  saved  in 
this  manner  will  not  exceed  20  cents  an  acre,  which  is  cer- 
tainly very  reasonable  for  the  better  grade  of  seed  obtained. 

In  the  southern  part  of  the  corn  belt,  seed  selection  may 
be  deferred  until  the  main  part  of  the  crop  is  husked.  The 
method  usually  followed  in  selecting  seed  at  this  time  is  to 
have  a  box  fastened  on  the  side  of  the  wagon  box  into  which 
the  corn  is  husked,  so  that  whenever  a  desirable  ear  is  found 
it  may  be  put  into  this  small  box  and  kept  separate  for  seed. 

125.  The  Type  to  Select.  One  of  the  laws  of  breeding 
which  is  recognized  by  everyone  familiar  with  either  plants 
or  animals  is  that  like  produces  like.  If  a  person  wishes  to 
grow  corn  of  any  particular  type  or  qualit}^,  he  can  expoct 


100 


FIELD  CROPS 


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28 


FIXING  THE   TYPE  101 

to  do  this  only  by  planting  seed  of  that  type  and  quality. 
Nearly  everyone  desires  to  grow  corn  that  yields  well  and  is 
of  good  qualit3^  To  accomplish  this  result  it  is  necessary 
to  select  seed  ears  of  the  type  known  to  give  satisfactory 
yields  of  the  quality  desired. 

If  one  has  a  variet}^  of  corn  that  is  larger  than  it  is  deemed 
desirable  to  produce,  the  variety  may  be  made  smaller  by 
selecting  ears  of  the  desired  size.  On  the  other  hand,  if  it  is 
thought  advisable  to  increase  the  size  of  the  corn,  largei- 
ears  should  be  selected.  Likewise,  any  character  that  is 
desired  may  be  fixed  by  persistently  selecting  every  year 
ears  of  corn  having  that  character. 

126.  Fixing  the  Type  in  Mind.  One  needs  but  to  examine 
an  ordinary  wagon  box  full  of  corn  as  it  is  picked  to  be  con- 
vinced that  there  are  good  and  poor  ears  in  every  field. 
Also,  there  are  usually  a  number  of  good  ears  in  dif- 
ferent types  in  every  lot  of  corn ;  for  instance,  there  may  be 
good  ears  of  corn  having  twenty  rows  of  kernels  and  other 
good  ears  having  only  sixteen  rows  of  kernels,  all  coming 
from  the  same  field  or  variety.  In  selecting  seed  corn  it  is 
highly  desirable  that  one  have  the  desired  type  clearly  in 
mind  and  select  to  that  type  persistently.  It  is  a  good  plan 
to  look  over  a  large  number  of  ears  and  pick  out  one  that 
is  as  near  the  ideal  as  possible.  This  ear  should  be  examined 
occasionally  to  keep  clearly  in  mind  the  type  sought. 

The  Extension  Division  of  the  Iowa  State  College  has 
suggested  four  questions  which  should  always  be  asked  re- 
garding each  ear  of  corn  selected.  These  questions  are:  (1) 
Will  it  yield?  (2)  Will  it  mature?  (3)  Does  it  show  im- 
provement? (4)  Will  it  grow?  These  four  simple,  practi-. 
cal  questions  may  easily  be  kept  in  mind  and  if  all  can  be 
answered  affirmatively  as  to  each  ear  of  corn  selected,  it  is 
reasonably  certain  that  the  seed  corn  is  good. 

127.  Yield  and  Maturity.  Indications  of  yield  are  size  of 
ear,  depth  of  kernel,  type  of  kernel,  and  proportion  of  corn 


102  nELD  CROPS 

to  cob.  The  importance  of  yield  is  understood  by  all.  Indi- 
cations of  maturity  are  firmness  of  the  ear  of  corn  or  firmness 
of  the  kernels  on  the  cob,  the  ease  with  which  the  kernels 
may  be  shelled  from  the  cob,  and  the  firmness  and  char- 
acter of  the  kernel.  Indications  of  immaturity  are  discolora- 
tion, blistering,  or  imperfect  development.  The  impoi- 
tance  of  maturity  can  hardly  be  overestimated.  There  is 
nothing:  quite  so  discouraging  in  corn-growing  as  a  crop  of 


Figure  39. — Butts  of  ears. 

soft  corn.  Corn  that  is  well  matured  has  a  considerably 
higher  feeding  value  than  immature  corn.  Mature  corn  can 
be  kept  easily  throughout  the  year  and  will  germinate  strong 
the  following  spring,  while  immature  is  very  likely  to  be  in- 
jured or  greatly  weakened  for  seed.  The  farmer  who  grows 
corn  that  is  practically  certain  to  mature  may  have  slightly 
smaller  yields  in  favorable  years,  but  he  usually  more  than 
makes  these  up  by  having  a  fair  crop  even  in  poor  corn 
years,  when  many  others  have  failures.  In  poor  years  for 
corn  production,  when  the  supply  is  short,  the  crop  is 
worth  more  to  the  bushel  than  in  good  corn  years,  which 
fact  more  than  compensates  for  the  slightly  smaller  yields 
in  specially  favorable  seasons. 

128.  Indications  of  improvement  in  coin  are  seen  chiefly 
in  the  uniformity  of  the  ears,  just  as  pure-bred  animals  are 
much  more  uniform  in  type  than  scrubs.  If  a  sample  of 
corn  is  fairly  uniform,  it  indicates  that  it  has  been  bred  along 
one  line  for  at  least  several  generations.     By  having  its 


STREXGTH  OF  GERMINATION  103 

rliaractcis  firmly  fixed,  it  is  moro  lik(^ly  to  l)rinj;-  forth  ^ixrd 
com  than  is  a  sample  that  lacks  this  quality. 

129.  Indications  of  strength  of  germination  are  maturity, 
large  germs,  and  dry,  sound,  bright-looking  kernels.  Such 
indications  are  not  always  rehable  guides  and  the  only  prac- 
tical way  of  l^eing  sure  that  an  ear  or  a  sample  of  corn 
will  germinate  well  is  to  test  it.     (Sections  74-77). 


11 

iJ 

M 

^H 

H 

■i 

H 

Fijiurp  40. — Tips  of  ears:  (1)  A  jiood  tip,  well-filled;  (2)  a  long,  taperiirg,  ir- 
regular tip;  (8)  a  broad  tip,  not  filled  out;  (4)  an  unfilled  tip.  Only  No.  1 
is  desirable. 

130.  The  Value  of  Good  Ears.  The  object  of  the  corn 
grower  is  to  produce  one  good  ear  of  corn  on  each  stalk  and 
to  have  at  least  three  strong  stalks  to  each  hill.  On  an  acre 
of  corn  planted  3  feet  8  inches  apart  each  way,  there  are 
3,240  hills.  If  one  good  10-ounce  ear  of  corn  in  produced  on 
each  hill,  a  yield  of  28.9  bushels  will  V)e  obtained.  This  yield 
is  2.9  bushels  to  the  acre  more  than  the  average  yield  of  corn 
throughout  the  United  States  during  the  ten  years  from 
1908  to  1917.  A  perfect  stand  with  a  10-ounce  ear  produced 
on  each  of  three  stalks  in  each  hill  would  produce  a  yield  of 
86.7  bushels  to  the  acre,  which  yield  may  be  reasonably 
excepted  on  good  corn  land  in  the  corn  belt  from  good 
methods  of  culture. 

131.  The  Form  of  Ear.  The  form  of  ear  and  type  of 
kernel  of  course  depend  largely  upon  the  variety  of  corn. 
In  a  general  way,  the  ears  that  have  proved  capable  of  pro- 
ducing the  best  yields  are  somewhat  uniform  in  circumference 
from  butt  to  tip;  that  is,  they  do  not  taper  noticeably.     Ears 


104  FIELD  CROPS 

on  which  the  rows  of  kernels  are  straight  are  to  ])e  pre- 
ferred to  ears  with  crooked,  irreguhir  rows,  as  a  much  larger 
proportion  of  the  kernels  is  uniform  and  consequently  suit- 
able for  seed.  Ears  of  corn  with  coarse,  rough  butts  are 
objectionable  also.  It  is  generally  advisable  to  select  ears 
whose  tips  are  rather  well  filled.  If  the  tips  are  not  filled, 
the  corn  is  immature  or  has  not  developed  properly. 


Figure  41. — Kernels  showing  large  and  email  germs,  taken  from  differ- 
ent ears  of  c^rn.  The  left-hand  kernel  in  each  pair  shows  low  feed- 
ing value,  while  the  right-hand  kernel  with  large  germs  shows  a  high 
per  cent  of  oil  and  protein.      (Holden.) 

132.  Type  of  Kernel.  In  the  careful  selection  of  corn, 
the  kernel  can  not  be  overlooked.  Each  kernel  should  be 
of  such  shape  that  the  space  about  the  cob  is  fully  occupied. 
Each  kernel  should  show  a  large,  strong  germ,  because  the 
germ  is  the  plantlet  that  is  to  make  the  next  generation  of 
corn.  The  germ  is  also  of  importance  because  it  contains 
a  considerable  portion  of  the  feeding  value  of  the  kernel, 
hence  kernels  with  large  germs  are  worth  more  for  feed  than 
those  with  small  ones.  Kernels  with  sharp-pointed  tips  are 
sure  to  have  small  germs.  Full  development  and  bright 
lustre  are  essential. 


STORING  SEED  CORN 


105 


It  is  desirable  to  obtain  as  large  a  proportion  of  shelled 
corn  to  cob  as  possible,  and  depth  of  kernel  is  a  very  fair 
indication  of  this  proportion ;  but  the  fact  that  deep-kerneled 
varieties  are  almost  always  later  in  maturing  than  the  types 
with  more  shallow  kernels  must  not  be 
overlooked.  Care  and  judgment  must 
always  be  used  to  select  kernels  as  deep 
as  is  practical,  and  still  get  corn  that 
will  mature  safely  in  the  locality. 

STORING  SEED  CORN 

133.  Conditions   for    Storing.     In 

storing  seed  corn,  one  must  recognize 
the  fact  that  in  each  kernel  of  corn 
there  is  a  small,  living  plant,  which 
under  certain  conditions  may  be  in- 
jured. If  corn  is  placed  in  a  damp, 
warm  atmosphere,  the  germ  is  likely 
to  be  injured  by  molding.  If  the  corn 
is  exposed  to  severe  cold  while-  it  still 
contains  a  large  percentage  of  moisture, 
the  cells  in  the  germ  are  very  likely 
to  be  broken  by  the  expansion  of  the 
moisture  on  freezing  and  the  germ  thus 
destroyed.  It  is  thus  apparent  that 
the  safe  storage  of  seed  corn  requires 
that  it  should  be  dried  out  quickly, 
that  it  be  kept  in  a  place  where  it  will 

remain  drj^,  and  that  it  be  not  allowed  to  freeze  until  it  is 
thoroughly  dry.  Though  corn  will  stand  considerable  freez- 
ing without  injury  when  it  is  dry,  it  is  better  to  protect  it 
from  frost  if  possible,  for  it  is  difficult  to  determine  just 
when  it  is  dry  enough  to  be  safe. 

134.  Storage  Houses.     Where  large  quantities  of  seed 
corn  are  handled,  as  is  the  case  with  seed  firms,  special  seed- 


Figure  42. — The  seed  corn 
tree.  Nails  are  driven 
in  rows  on  the  sides  of 
the  post  and  the  seed 
oars  are  stnok  on  them. 


106  FIELD  CROPS 

houses  well  provided  with  ventilation  are  constructed.  The 
corn  is  put  into  racks  oi*  very  narrow  cribs,  which  are  often 
made  of  woven  wire  so  that  free  circulation  of  air  is  possible. 
On  the  farm,  where  only  enough  seed  corn  is  saved  for  home 
use,  more  cai-eful  methods  can  very  profitably  be  followed. 


Figure    43. — Several    methods   of   placing   seed    corn   for   storing;   the  double- 
string  method  at  the  left. 


135.  Storing  on  the  Farm.  The  right  method  is  to  store 
the  ears  so  that  no  two  are  touching  and  so  that  each  ear  is 
exposed  to  free  circulation  of  air. 

Any  convenient  place  where  corn  can  be  dried  out  before 
cold  weather,  preferably  without  artificial  heat,  and  where 
mice  can  be  kept  from  it  may  be  used  with  very  satisfactory 
results.  A  well-ventilated  attic  with  at  least  two  windows 
that  may  be  opened  or  closed  at  will  and  which  gets  some 
heat  from  the  rooms  below  is  an  ideal  place  for  storing  seed 
corn.  If  the  cellar  is  dry  and  well- ventilated,  it  affords  a 
good  place  for  storing  seed  corn;  but,  if  it  is  not  dry,  corn 
should  not  be  stored  there.     Cellars  arc  not  ususally  suitable 


USES  OF  CORN  107 

unless  they  are  provided  with  furnace  heat.  Storing  in 
granaries  over  bins  of  grain  is  not  safe,  as  the  grain  is  hkely 
to  heat  or  to  give  off  moisture  and  injure  the  corn. 

136.  Methods  of  Storing.  As  previously  stated,  (Section 
134),  seed  corn  in  large  quantities  is  usually  stored  in  narrow 
bins  through  which  air  can  circulate  quite  freely.  Some 
practical  methods  of  storing  smaller  quantities  of  corn  on  the 
farm  are  shown  in  Figures  42  and  43.  The  seed  corn  tree  is  a 
square,  octagonal,  or  round  post  4  to  (3  feet  high,  fixed  to 
stand  erect  on  a  broad  ]>ase.  Finishing  nails  are  driven  into 
it  just  far  enough  apart  so  that  when  ears  are  jabbed  on 
them,  butts  first,  they  will  just  miss  one  another.  This 
makes  an  excellent  place  to  store  seed  corn.  Another  very 
convenient  way  of  hanging  up  seed  corn  is  the  double  string 
method.     Other  ways  are  illustrated  in  Figure  43. 

USES  OF  CORN 

137.  Importance  as  Food.  The  place  corn  has  attained 
as  most  important  of  all  American  farm  crops  is  due  to  the 
quality  and  variety  of  food  products  it  furnishes  and  to  the 
fact  that  no  other  cereal  crop  can  compete  with  it  success- 
fully in  the  quantity  of  food  it  will  produce  to  the  acre  or  to 
the  unit  of  labor  expended. 

Corn  is  used  for  a  great  variety  of  purposes,  both  in  its 
natural  state  and  in  the  form  of  manufactured  products. 
Its  greatest  and  most  common  use  is  in  the  form  of  feed  for 
live  stock.  It  is  used  for  this  purpose  as  grain,  as  roughage 
in  the  forms  of  fodder  corn,  silage,  and  stover,  as  green  feed, 
and  as  a  pasture  crop. 

By  far  the  most  important  part  of  the  corn  plant  is  the 
grain.  Its  value  in  the  United  States  is  greater  than  the 
value  of  any  other  two  farm  crops  produced  and  greater 
than  the  wheat,  oat,  barley,  flax,  r3^e,  and  tobacco  crops 
combined.  As  a  feed  for  live  stock,  a  pound  of  cornmeal  is 
worth  more  than  a  pound  of  oats,  barley,  or  bran. 


108  FIELD  CROPS 

About  three  fourths  of  the  total  net  nutrients  of  the 
stalk  and  ears  is  contained  in  the  grain.  The  whole  kernel 
contains  11.33  per  cent  of  crude  protein,  82.26  per  cent  of 
carbohydrates,  4.86  per  cent  of  fat,  and  1.54  per  cent  of  ash. 

138.  Use  as  Human  Food.  As  food  for  man,  corn  is 
most  largely  used  in  the  form  of  cornmeal,  from  which 
numerous  dishes  are  prepared.  It  is  also  used  as  hominy, 
corn  flour,  cerealine,  green  corn,  canned  corn,  pop  corn, 
starch,  sirup,  corn  flakes,  and  corn  oil.  The  refined 
oil  is  used  for  shortening,  and  sometimes  as  a  substitute  for 
olive  oil. 

139.  Manufactured  Products.  One  product  of  the  corn 
crop  is  canned  green  sweet  corn,  which  represents  an  industry 
of  considerable  importance.  Starch  is  a  valuable  product 
manufactured  from  the  grain  of  corn  which  is  used  both  as 
food  and  for  starching,  or  stiffening,  fabrics.  It  is  likewise 
converted  into  a  form  of  sirup  known  as  corn  sirup.  Corn- 
meal  is  the  finely  ground  corn,  largely  used  as  food.  Corn 
flour  is  even  more  finely  ground;  it  is  used  as  a  partial  sub- 
stitute for  wheat  flour  in  bread  making.  In  the  manufacture 
of  starch,  flour,  and  cornmeal,  the  germs  of  corn  are  removed. 
These  germs  are  heated  and  pressed  and  a  valuable  oil  is 
extracted  from  them.  This  oil  in  the  crude  form  is  used  in 
painting  and  as  a  lubricant,  and  is  vulcanized  into  a  cheap 
grade  of  rubber.  It  may  also  be  refined  and  used  as  a 
food  product.  Corn  flakes  and  cerealine  are  two  very 
palatable  breakfast  cereals  also  manufactured  from  corn. 
Alcohol  and  distilled  liquors  are  manufactured  largely  from 
this  grain.  The  pith  of  cornstalks  is  used  in  the  manu- 
facture of  explosives  and  as  a  packing  material  for  battle 
ships.  The  cobs  are  made  into  pipes,  and  the  stalks  are 
now  being  used  to  some  extent  in  the  manufacture  of  paper. 
Corn  husks  are  used  for  making  mattresses  and  for  packing. 

140.  By-products.  The  by-products  from  corn  canning 
factories,  the  husks  and  cobs,  are  often  used  in  the  form  of 


DISEASES  OF  CORN  109 

silage  or  as  green  feed.  Corn  cake,  a  by-product  left  from 
the  manufacture  of  corn  oil  from  the  germs  of  corn,  is  also 
valuable  stock  feed.  Gluten  meal,  a  by-product  from  starch 
factories,  is  richer  in  protein  and  considerably  richer  in 
carbohydrates  than  linseed  meal.  It  is  highly  prized  as 
stock  feed.  Corn  bran,  another  by-product  in  the  manu- 
facture of  cornmeal,  cornstarch,  and  breakfast  foods,  is 
valuable  feed  for  stock,  though  it  is  not  as  valuable  pound 
for  pound  as  common  wheat  bran.  It  is  quite  commonly 
mixed  with  gluten  meal,  and  the  mixture  is  then  sold  as 
gluten  feed.  Distillery  slops,  a  watery  by-product  in  the 
manufacture  of  alcohol,  is  of  considerable  importance  as 
stock  feed,  though  naturally  it  must  be  fed  locally  as  it  is 
too  bulky  to  ship  far.  Malt  left  from  distilleries  is  dried 
and  sold  as  distillers'  grains,  a  valuable  live  stock  feed. 

DISEASES  OF  CORN 

141.  Smut.  Corn  smut  is  well  known  to  every  one 
familiar  with  corn.  In  some  years,  when  conditions  are 
favorable,  considerable  damage  is  done  by  it.  It  appears 
as  black,  slimy  masses,  which  may  be  on  the  stalks,  leaves, 
tassels,  or  ears.  Corn  smut  is  a  parasitic  plant  which  lives 
on  the  juices  of  the  corn  plant,  and  in  this  way  reduces  the 
total  valuable  product  of  the  crop.  The  smut  masses  which 
appear  on  the  surface  are  made  up  of  myriads  of  spores 
by  which  the  disease  is  reproduced.  These  spores  are 
capable  of  living  over  winter  in  the  soil  or  in  manure  piles. 
They  may  even  multiply  in  the  manure  under  favorable 
conditions  and  then  be  spread  on  the  soil  with  it.  When 
they  start  to  grow  in  the  spring,  the  smut  plants  they  pro- 
duce attack  the  young  corn  plants,  sending  their  mycelia 
into  the  tissues.  Smut  may  attack  corn  at  any  time  during 
the  growing  season,  usually  most  abundantly  when  the  plants 
are  growing  rapidly  and  are  consequently  tender,  usually 
when  they  are  a  foot  or  more  high. 


110  FIELD  CROPS 

There  is  no  method  of  seed  treatment  that  will  prevent 
smut,  as  the  spores  are  not  carried  to  any  great  extent 
by  the  seed  corn.  Some  of  the  practical  means  at  hand  of 
checking  this  disease  are  to  remove  the  smutted  parts  of 
the  corn  plants  from  the  field  and  burn  them,  and  to  use 
care  to  prevent  the  smut  spores  from  getting  into  the 
manure.  They  usually  get  into  the  manure  through  feeding 
smutted  stalks  to  cattle.  Rotation  of  crops  will  have  a 
tendency  to  decrease  the  prevalence  of  smut.  likewise, 
the  application  of  manure  to  grass  land  a  year  or  so  in 
advance  of  planting  the  field  to  corn  will  have  a  tendency 
to  reduce  the  infection  from  the  manure. 

142.  Feeding  Smutted  Com.  Many  persons  have  thought 
that  the  '^ cornstalk  disease,"  which  sometimes  attacks  cat- 
tle that  are  feeding  in  stalk  fields,  was  caused  by  the  eating 
of  smut.  Experiments  have  shown  that  it  is  due  to  some 
other  cause,  since  quite  large  quantities  of  smut  have  been 
fed  to  cattle,  as  much  as  several  pounds  a  day  to  each  ani- 
mal, without  any  detrimental  results.  These  experiments 
indicate  that  there  is  some  food  value  in  the  smut  masses 
and  that  smutted  stalks  may  be  fed  without  danger. 

143.  Bacterial  Diseases.  Corn  is  subject  to  several 
bacterial  diseases,  but  the  damage  done  by  them  is  not 
serious  and  they  need  not  be  discussed. 

INSECTS  AFFECTING  CORN 

144.  Wireworms.  Wireworms,  which  are  the  larvae  of 
the  chck  beetle,  sometimes  do  serious  damage  to  corn  for  a 
year  or  so  following  the  breaking  up  of  sod  land.  The 
beetles  deposit  their  eggs  in  sod  land,  and  the  following  spring 
the  eggs  hatch  in  the  form  of  small,  reddish-brown,  shiny 
worms.  These  worms  live  in  the  soil  for  a  couple  of  years 
before  they  change  into  the  beetle  form.  On  this  account 
they  give  trouble  longer  than  do  cutworms.  The  most  effec- 
tive manner   of   combating   these   worms   is  fall   plowing, 


INSECTS  AFFECTING  CORN 


111 


which  disturbs  the  eggs  and  consequently  causes  many  of 
them  to  be  destroyed  by  the  severity  of  freezing. 

145.  Cutworms.  Cutworms  are  one  of  the  most  com- 
mon enemies  of  the  corn  crop.  Like  wireworms,  they  are 
common  only  in  or  near  sod  land.  They  are  usually  grayish- 
brown  in  color,  and  are  from  1  to  IJ/g  inches  long.  They 
attack  the  corn  plants  at  night  and  cut  them  off  just  at 
the  surface  of  the  ground. 

Fields  of  corn  are  often  com- 
pletely destroyed  by  them. 
Fall  plowing,  as  suggested 
for  wireworms,  is  somewhat 
effective  with  cutworms, 
though  they  arc  not  entirely 
controlled  by  this  treatment. 
Thorough  cultivation  until 
corn  planting  time  is  also 
effective,  as  many  of  the 
worms  are  injured  by  the 
cultivation,  and  if  nothing 

is  allowed  to  grow  they  have  difficulty  in  getting  food.  The 
most  efficient  method  of  control  is  rotation  of  crops,  with 
fields  left  in  grass  not  more  than  two  years  in  succession. 
Poison  is  sometimes  used,  though  it  is  much  more  effective 
and  practical  in  the  garden  than  in  the  field.  A  mixture  of 
1  pound  of  Paris  green  and  30  pounds  of  bran,  scattered  in 
little  piles  near  the  hills  of  corn,  will  destroy  many  of  the 
worms.  A  little  sirup  or  sugar  added  to  this  mixture  makes 
it  more  effective. 

146.  Army  Worm.  The  arm}-  worm  is  a  name  given 
to  certain  types  of  cutworms  when  they  appear  in  large 
numbers  and  move  from  field  to  field.  They  usually  attack 
plants  later  in  the  season  than  the  common  cutworms,  and 
eat  the  upper  parts  of  the  plants  rather  than  those  just  at 
the  surface  of  the  ground.     The  most  effective  trentment 


F'igure  44. — Army  worm  and  adult  moth. 


112 


FIELD  CROPS 


for  these  worms  is  fall  plowing  and  rotation  of  crops,  as 
suggested  for  the  common  cutworm. 

147.  White  Grubs.  The  white  grub,  veiy  commonly 
seen  when  plowing  land,  especially  in  the  spring,  is  like- 
wise a  serious  pest  to  the  corn  plant.  These  grubs,  like 
wireworms,  live  in  the  worm  stage  for  two  years,  and  con- 
sequently trouble  from  them  may  appear  in  two  succeeding 
crops  on  the  same  field.     They  attack  the  roots  of  the  corn 


Figure  45. — Chinch  bug,  adult  at  left,  a,  b,  eggs;  c,  newly  hatched  larva; 
d,  its  tarsus;  e,  larva  after  first  molt;  £,  same  after  second  molt:  g, 
pupa;  h,  enlarged  leg  of  adult;  j,  tarsus  of  the  same  enlarged;  i,  pro- 
boscis, enlarged.      {Riley) 

and  very  seriously  check  its  growth.  The  same  treatment 
as  for  wireworms  is  effective. 

148.  Chinch  Bugs.  The  chinch  bug,  which  is  common 
only  periodically,  is  known  best  in  grain  fields,  where  its 
injury  is  greatest.  Often  entire  fields  are  cut  down  by  these 
insects.  They  Uve  over  winter  in  the  adult  stage,  usually 
under  rubbish  of  some  kind.  The  female  emerges  in  the 
spring  and  lays  the  eggs,  and  in  a  short  time  the  young  are 
hatched.  The  egg-laying  period  extends  over  several  weeks, 
so  the  young  are  usually  seen  in  all  stages  of  growth.  They 
attack  plants  anywhere  above  the  ground,  sucking  the  juices 
from  them.  As  they  usually  appear  in  large  numbers,  their 
damage  is  very  serious.  Their  attacks  are  usually  after  the 
grain  fields  on  which  they  have  been  living  are  harvested. 

Clean  farming  is  an  effective  remedy,  because  it  reduces 
the  number  of  suitable  places  in  which  the  insects  may  live 


INSECTS  AFFECTING  CORN  113 

over  winter.  "When  it  is  feared  that  they  are  to  attack 
a  cornfield,  a  strip  a  rod  or  so  wide,  plowed  and  pulverized 
to  fine  dust,  is  effective  in  checking  their  progress.  Fur- 
rows are  often  plowed  about  a  field  and  a  log  dragged  along 
the  furrow  to  make  a  fine  dust  in  it.  The  little  insects, 
owing  to  the  moving  of  the  dust,  have  difficulty  in  crossing 
the  furrow.  Holes  bored  with  a  post  auger  at  intervals 
along  the  furrow  serve  as  efficient  traps  to  catch  large  num- 
bers of  the  insects.  They  may  be  killed  in  these  holes  by 
burying  them  or  by  pouring  a  small  quantity  of  kerosene  on 
them.  Strips  of  tar  are  also  effective  in  checking  their 
progress. 

149.  Grasshoppers,  sometimes  do  serious  injury  to  corn. 
Like  chinch  bugs,  they  attack  the  corn,  as  a  rule,  only  after 
the  other  crops  have  been  destroyed  or  harvested.  The 
edges  of  the  fields  next  to  grass  land  or  grain  fields  are  usu- 
ally attacked  first.  Fall  plowing  is  one  of  the  most  effective 
methods  of  preventing  the  ravages  of  grasshoppers.  They 
may  be  killed  in  large  numbers  by  spraying  a  strip  along 
the  cornfield  with  arsenate  of  lead,  mixed  in  the  proportion 
of  5  pounds  to  100  gallons  of  water.  The  cornstalks  thus 
sprayed  cannot  be  used  safely  as  feed  for  stock. 

150.  Grain  Weevil.  Corn  in  storage  is  sometimes 
attacked  by  the  grain  weevil.  These  insects  eat  into  the 
heart  of  the  kernel  and  destroy  the  germ.  In  seed  corn 
they  are  most  effectively  controlled  by  putting  the  corn  in  a 
tight  box,  can,  or  bin,  and  setting  a  shallow  open  dish  of 
carbon  bisulphide  on  top  of  the  corn.  This  can  be  obtained 
at  any  drug  store.  It  evaporates  quickly  and  the  gas,  being 
heavier  than  air,  settles  down  among  the  grains  of  corn  and 
kills  the  insects  in  it.  Care  must  be  taken  not  to  breathe  the 
fumes  of  this  gas.  Large  quantities  of  corn  may  be  treated 
in  the  same  way  if  tight  rooms  can  be  provided. 

151.  Crows  and  gophers  often  attack  corn  after  it  is 
planted,  digging  up  the  kernels  or  young  plants  and  de- 

8— 


114  FIELD  CROPS 

stroying  them.  The  work  of  these  birds  and  rodents  may 
be  checked  to  a  considerable  extent  by  treating  the  seed  corn 
with  tar.  The  corn  is  put  in  a  kettle  slightly  warmed  and 
moistened;  then  tar  is  applied  and  the  corn  stirred,  just 
enough  being  used  to  make  a  very  thin  film  of  tar  about 
each  kernel.  A  tablespoonful  should  be  sufficient  to  treat  6 
or  8  quarts  of  seed  corn.  After  the  kernels  are  coated  with 
tar,  planting  is  facilitated  by  applying  road  dust,  ashes,  or 
air-slaked  lime,  so  that  the  kernels  will  not  stick  together. 

IMPROVEMENT  OF  CORN 

152.  Problems  in  Improvement.  There  are  many  prob- 
lems connected  with  the  improvement  of  seed  corn  which 
are  not  met  in  the  improvement  of  some  of  the  other  farm 
crops.  The  chief  difficulty  involved  in  improving  corn 
comes  from  the  fact  that  it  is .  open-fertilized ;  that  is,  the 
female  flowers  of  one  plant  are  naturally  fertilized  by  pollen 
from  the  male  flowers  of  other  plants.  On  this  account 
selected  strains  are  very  likely  to  become  mixed  with  poorer 
individuals,  and  the  work  of  selection  may  in  this  way  be 
entirely  lost  or  its  effect  greatly  reduced.  Wiile  progress 
is  made  by  the  selection  of  the  best  ears  of  corn,  the  ear 
indicates  only  the  character  of  the  mother  plant  on  which 
it  grew  and  nothing  of  the  character  of  the  male  plant 
or  plants  that  produced  the  pollen  to  fertilize  its  kernels. 
Both  parent  plants  must  be  taken  into  consideration. 

153.  The  Ear~to-Row  Method.  The  fact  that  appear- 
ance does  not  always  enable  one  to  select  the  ears  that  will 
give  the  largest  yields  has  long  l^een  recognized.  Many 
years  ago  corn  breeders  adopted  the  practice  of  planting  the 
seed  from  the  selected  ears  in  separate  rows  side  by  side  in  a 
uniform  field,  so  that  their  comparative  jdelding  power  could 
be  determined.  Such  ear-to-row  tests  almost  always  indicate 
a  very  wide  variation  in  the  yielding  power,  even  though 
such  ears  may  be  similar  in  appearance.     It  is  not  at  all 


IMPHOVEMEXT  OF  CORX  115 

uncommon  to  find  ears  of  the  same  variety  and  selected  to 
the  same  type  which  yield  100  per  cent  more  than  other 
ears  which,  so  far  as  one  can  tell,  appear  to  be  equally  good. 
For  ear-to-row  tests,  a  uniform  field  wide  enough  to  plant 
as  many  rows  as  there  are  ears  to  be  tested  should  be  pro- 


Figure  4G. — The  value  of  the  ear-to-row  test.     The  crates  show  the  yield  from 
two  rows  which  appeared  to  be  equally  good. 

vided.  The  rows  may  be  as  long  as  desired;  they  are  limited, 
of  course,  by  the  number  of  kernels  on  the  ears  to  be  tested. 
A  fair-sized  ear  will  plant  a  row  from  40  to  50  rods  long. 
Many  corn  breeders  use  shorter  rows  and  plant  duplicate 
rows  from  each  ear,  to  serve  as  an  additional  check  in 
determining  the  best.  At  harvest  time,  the  product  of  each 
ear  is  carefully  weighed  and  the  high-yielding  and  low-yield- 
ing ears  thus  discovered.  The  corn  from  the  low-yielding 
rows  is  discarded,  and  only  seed  from  the  high-yielding  rows 
is  saved  for  future  planting. 

The  chief  objection  to  this  method  is  that  the  high-yield- 
ing rows  of  corn  have  been  fertilized  in  part  with  pollen 
from  other  rows.     The  individual  kernels  on  the  selected 


116  FIELD  CROPS 

ears,  while  they  are  known  to  come  from  a  mother  plant  of 
high  yielding  power,  are  from  an  unknown  male  parent,  and 
many  kernels  in  ears  selected  from  the  highest-yielding  row 
have  been  fertilized  by  pollen  from  low-yielding  rows. 

154.  Pedigreed  Varieties.  In  order  that  a  plant  or  an 
animal  may  be  pedigreed,  its  ancestors  on  both  sides  must 
be  known.  For  a  pedigree  to  be  of  material  value,  the 
performance  records  of  its  parents  must  likewise  be  known. 
It  is  quite  evident  that  it  would  be  impossible  to  produce  a 
pedigreed  variety  of  corn  by  the  ear-to-row  method  of  breed- 
ing outlined  in  the  preceding  paragraphs.  While  the  mother 
plant  and  the  record  of  the  mother  plant  for  generations 
might  be  known,  the  male  plant  is  absolutely  unknown. 

Pedigreed  corn  may  be  produced  by  starting  with  the 
ear-to-row  test,  selecting  50  to  100  ears  as  desired.  The 
corresponding  number  of  rows  is  planted  from  these  ears, 
but  half  or  less  than  half  of  the  seed  from  each  ear  is  used; 
the  other  half  is  reserved  for  future  use.  The  parts  of  the 
ears  retained  are  numbered  to  correspond  with  the  ears  plant- 
ed. The  test  is  conducted  in  the  same  manner  as  the  ear- 
to-row  test. 

The  advantage  of  this  method  is  that  after  the  ear-to- 
row  test  has  shown  which  are  the  high-yielding  ears,  the 
best  two  may  be  mated  by  planting  the  remaining  portions 
of  them  the  following  year  and  a  cross  between  two  ears 
of  known  high-yielding  power  thus  obtained.  For  example: 
If  ear  No.  25  yields  80  bushels  to  the  acre  and  ear  No.  42 
yields  85  bushels,  while  the  rest  of  the  ears  in  the  test  yield 
70  bushels  or  less,  it  is  plain  that  ears  25  and  42  are  the 
highest  yielding  ears  of  the  lot.  The  second  year,  the  re- 
maining portions  of  these  two  ears  are  planted  in  an  isolated 
seed  plat,  alternate  rows  being  planted  with  seed  from  the 
two  ears.  When  the  corn  in  this  plat  begins  to  tassel,  all 
the  plants  coming  from  one  of  the  ears  are  detasseled  and 


INBREEDING  117 

the  other  plants  left  to  produce  tassels.  It  is  then  certain 
that  all  the  ears  on  the  detasseled  rows  are  fertilized  with 
pollen  coming  from  plants  produced  from  the  other  ear.  The 
seed  saved  from  the  detasseled  rows  may  really  be  called 
pedigreed  corn;  that  is,  the  male  parent  and  its  performance 
record,  as  well  as  the  mother  plant  and  its  record,  are  defi- 
nitely known. 

In  such  a  breeding  plat,  it  is  necessary  to  take  every  pre- 
caution to  prevent  the  introduction  of  pollen  from  any  other 
corn.  All  the  corn  produced  on  the  row  not  detasseled 
would,  of  course,  be  inbred;  that  is,  these  ears  would  nat- 
urally be  fertilized  by  pollen  produced  on  plants  from  the 
same  ear.  All  this  corn  would  be  discarded  and  seed  saved 
only  from  the  detasseled  rows. 

155.  Inbreeding.  One  of  the  difficulties  encountered  in 
this  plan  is  the  inbreeding  which  is  likely  to  be  brought  about 
by  this  close  selection  of  corn.  This  may  be  overcome  by 
continuing  the  ear-to-row  tests  year  after  year.  This  plan 
calls  for  four  separate  plats  or  fields  of  corn  each  year.  The 
first  plat  is  devoted  to  the  ear-to-row  test.  The  second  plat 
where  the  best  ears,  as  shown  by  the  ear-to-row  test  of  the 
previous  year,  are  mated,  is  called  the  breeding  plat.  The 
third  is  termed  the  multiplication  plat,  which  may  be  of  any 
size  desired.  Here  the  seed  produced  from  the  breeding 
plat  of  the  year  before  is  planted  to  obtain  enough  seed  for 
field  use.  The  fourth  plat  is  the  regular  field  of  corn,  the 
seed  for  which  comes  from  the  multiplication  plat. 

For  the  ear-to-row  test  which  is  conducted  each  year, 
some  of  the  best  ears  are  taken  from  the  general  field,  some 
from  the  multiplication  plat,  and  some  from  the  breeding 
plat.  When  it  is  thought  that  new  blood  must  be  brought 
in  from  outside,  selected  ears  of  the  variety  with  which  one 
is  working  may  be  obtained  from  other  farms  or  other 
))reeders.  By  running  all  these  ears  together  in  the  ear- 
to-row  test  and  then  selecting  and  mating  together  the  high- 


lis  FIELD  CROPS 

yielding  ears  each  year,  new  blood  can  constantly  be  brought 
in  from  ears  of  known  yielding  power.  This  plan  will  quite 
probably  be  adopted  eventually  bj^  all  corn  breeders. 

156.  The  Need  for  Special  Breeders.  Too  much  time  and 
too  much  careful  work  are  involved  in  the  scientific  breed- 
ing of  corn  to  make  it  practical  for  each  farmer  to  attempt 
the  work.  Probabty  the  average  farmer  will  not  care  to  go 
further  in  l^reeding  work  than  to  ha^-e  a  special  seed  corn 
l^lat,  and  not  attempt  to  produce  pedigreed  seed  corn,  or 
even  to  conduct  an  ear-to-row  test.  Then,  in  every  corn- 
growing  community  there  wdll  be  room  for  a  corn  breeder. 
When  this  breeder  has  demonstrated  that  he  has  corn  of 
superior  quality  especially  adapted  to  the  locality,  he  will 
have  little  difficulty  in  selling  it  at  a  price  which  will 
make  it  profital^le  for  him  to  breed  corn  as  a  business.  If 
he  produces  corn  of  high  quality,  it  will  be  profitable  for 
farmers  in  the  community  to  buy  seed  of  him. 

157.  The  Farmer's  Seed  Com  Plat.  Every  corn  grower 
can  well  afford  to  give  some  time  and  thought  to  the  care  and 
handling  of  a  seed  corn  plat.  The  size  of  this  plat  w411 
depend  upon  the  acreage  of  corn  grown.  The  object  should 
be  to  have  the  plat  large  enough  to  produce  sufficient  seed 
of  excellent  quality  to  meet  his  requirements.  If  the  seed 
corn  plat  is  to  be  one  acre  in  size,  the  proper  method  is  to 
select  the  necessaiy  number  of  ears,  which  is  about  twent}^, 
to  plant  this  plat,  using  extra  care  to  select  absolutely  the 
best  ears  that  can  be  obtained.  After  the  ears  are  selected 
and  tested,  the  plat  is  planted  in  the  same  way  as  the  ordi- 
nary field ;  in  fact,  it  is  preferably  a  part  of  the  regular  corn 
field.  If  possible,  it  should  be  on  either  the  south  or  the  west 
side  of  the  field,  or  on  the  side  toward  the  prevaiUng  winds, 
so  that  the  pollen  from  the  main  portion  will  be  less  likely 
to  fertihze  the  stalks  in  this  seed  plat.  Care  must  be  taken, 
however,  that  the  plat  is  not  near  a  neighbor's  corn  field, 
because  the  neighbor  may  not  have  as  carefully  selected  com 


JUDGING  CORN  119 

as  that  grown  on  the  plat.  It  is  better  to  have  the  seed  corn 
plat  near  the  middle  of  the  main  field  than  to  have  it  near  a 
neighbor's  corn  of  a  different  variety  or  of  inferior  quality. 
A  seed  corn  plat  planted  in  this  way  may  be  cultivated  with 
the  rest  of  the  field,  so  that  very  little  extra  work  is  entailed. 
The  best  seed  is  planted  on  this  plat  and  extra  care  is 
taken  while  it  is  growing  that  all  weak  and  barren  stalks 
are  removed  or  detasselod,  so  that  all  ears  produced  on  it 
will  be  fertilized  from  strong  stalks  that  bear  ears  of  corn. 
When  the  time  comes  to  select  seed,  all  the  best  corn  produced 
in  the  seed  plat  is  selected.  The  following  spring  the  twent}^ 
best  ears  are  selected  and  planted  in  another  seed  corn  plat 
and  the  balance  is  used  for  the  seed  of  the  main  crop.  On  a 
small  plat  of  this  kind,  one  can  afford  to  use  more  care  in 
selecting  seed  and  in  weeding  out  or  detasseUng  the  weak 
stalks  than  is  practical  on  the  large  fields. 

.JUDGING  CORN' 

158.  Object  of  Judging.  The  judging  of  corn  is  not 
nearly  so  difficult  as  it  at  first  seems.  When  one  first  looks 
at  an  exhibit  of  corn  containing  a  large  number  of  samples, 
it  appears  to  be  almost  an  impossi])le  task  to  pick  out  the 
best  lots.  The  chief  object  in  the  improvement  of  corn 
is  to  get  a  variety  that  will  yield  the  largest  possible  quantity 
of  food  products  to  the  acre.  The  work  of  the  judge  is 
simply  to  pick  out  the  sample  that,  in  his  judgement,  will 
produce  the  best  crop  of  corn  if  planted  the  following  season. 

159.  The  Use  of  the  Score  Card.  To  become  familiar 
with  the  important  points  in  an  car  or  other  sample  of  corn 
one  should  make  a  careful  study  of  a  score  card.  There  are 
many  different  score  cards  in  use.  Nearly  every  state 
agricultural  college  has  a  score  card  for  corn,  each  differing 
from  those  used  by  the  other  colleges.  The  difference  is 
due  to  the  fact  that  some  points  seem  to  be  of  more  value 
in  some  sections  of  the  country  than  in  others. 


120  FIELD  CROPS 

SCORE  CARD  FOR  CORN 

(From  Indiana  Circular  18.) 

Standard 
Salient  Points  Score 

Uniformity  of  Exhibit '  10 

Shape  of  Ears 10 

Length  of  Ears 10 

Color  of  Grain  and  Cob 10 

Tips  of  Ears 5 

Butts  of  Ears 5 

Kernel : 

a  Shape 10 

b  Indentation 5 

c  Uniformity 10 

Seed  Condition 15 

Proportion  of  Grain  to  Cob 10 

Total 100 

SPECIAL  TYPE  OF  SCORE  CARD  FOR  CORN 
USED  BY  THE  EXTENSION  DIVISION,  IOWA  STATE  COLLEGE 

Points 
I.     Will  It  Yield?  25 

That  is,  will  it  yield  well;  has  it  constitution;  can  we  depend 
on  it  even  when  conditions  are  unfavorable? 
II.      Will  It  Ripen?  2.5 

That  is,  will  it  mature;  will  it  ripen  every  year;  is  it  safe  for 
the  locality? 

III.  Does  It  Show  Improvement?  25 

That  is,  has  it  breeding;  has  it  a  distinct  type;  will  it  repro- 
duce itself;  has  it  several  years  of  careful  selection  and 
improvement  back   of  it? 

IV.  Will  It  Grow?  25 

That  is,  has  it  vitality;  will  it  germinate;  will  it  all  grow  and 
grow  uniformly,  giving  strong,  vigorous  plants? 

100   • 

The  object  of  the  score  card  is  simply  to  call  the  judge's 
or  the  student's  attention  to  the  various  points  of  importance 
in  the  sample  under  consideration  so  that  no  point  will  be 
overlooked.  The  relative  values  given  these  different  points 
are  not  so  important  as  the  fact  that  thay  all  are  considered 
and  that  all  the  corn  in  each  class  is  judged  on  the  same 
basis.  There  are  very  few  judges  of  expeiience  who  use  the 
score  card.  They  have  trained  themselves  unt'il  they  are 
able  to  observe  and  weigh  the  relative  merits  of  the  different 
points  of  each  sample  of  corn  presented  to  them. 

160.  Placing  Samples.  When  attempting  to  judge  a 
large  number  of  samples  of  corn  on  exhibition,  the  first  step 


LABORATORY    AND    FIELD    EXERCISES  121 

is  to  eliminate  all  the  poorer  samples  from  the  class  which 
is  under  consideration.  As  a  rule,  a  large  number  of  samples 
are  easily  ruled  out,  for  there  may  be  mixed  kernels,  soft 
ears,  poor  ears,  or  other  disqualifying  factors  which  are 
easily  noticed.  The  second  step  is  to  get  the  remaining  good 
samples  together,  where  they  may  be  easily  compared.  The 
third  step  is  to  place  at  one  end  of  the  exhibit  table  or  bench 
the  sample  that  seems  best;  then  place  the  other  samples  as 
their  merit  seems  to  warrant.  When  one  feels  that  they  are 
placed  in  the  proper  order,  or  nearly  so,  a  few  kernels  should 
be  removed  from  each  ear  in  each  sample  and  placed  at  the 
end  of  the  ear  from  which  they  were  taken.  It  is  easy  then 
to  compare  the  kernels  to  see  whether  or  not  they  are  good 
in  shape,  true  to  type,  and  uniform.  Comparison  of  kernels 
is  always  necessary  when  the  competition  is  close. 

LABORATORY  AND  FIELD  EXERCISES 

1.  Select  from  a  large  number  of  ears  in  the  field,  in  the  crib,  or  in 
the  seed-house,  10  ears  of  corn  as  nearly  alike  as  possible  in  the  follow- 
ing respects:  Cobs  the  same  length,  size,  color  and  shape;  tips  and  butts 
well  filled;  rows  of  .kernels  straight;  the  same  number  of  rows  on  each 
cob;  kernels  of  the  same  depth,  shape  and  color,  with  uniformly  large 
germs,  and  broad,  well-filled  tips.  Note  the  large  number  of  ears  neces- 
sary to  obtain  the  ten-ear  sample,  also  the  great  tendency  to  vary. 

2.  Test  100  ears  for  germination  by  the  individual  ear  method  as 
described  in  this  chapter.  Make  a  note  of  the  materials  and  time  used 
to  make  the  tester,  put  the  100  ears  to  test,  and  read  the  results.  How 
much  more  corn  must  one  obtain  at  80  cents  per  bushel  to  pay  for  the 
time  and  materials  used  in  making  the  test?  Do  you  think  it  pays  to 
test  corn?  How  many  acres  will  100  ears  of  corn  plant  in  check  rows 
3  feet  8  inches  apart  each  way,  and  3  kernels  dropped  per  hill? 

3.  Make  a  seed-corn  tree  as  described  in  this  chapter.  Note  cost 
of  materials  and  time  required.  How  much  did  it  cost  you?  How 
many  ears  of  corn  will  a  tree  6  feet  high  and  with  8  rows  of  nails  hold? 
How  many  such  seed-corn  trees  would  you  need  to  store  enough  seed 
corn  for  your  own  use?     Hang  up  some  seed  corn  by  the  double  string. 

4.  When  the  corn  is  ripe  in  your  neighborhood,  go  into  a  field, 
select  an  average  row,  and  count  the  number  of  stalks  in  100  hills  that 
have  produced  ears.     (Count  as  hills  each  place  where  there  should 


122  FIELD  CROPS 

Ikivc  been  a  hill,  whether  any  stalks  are  there  or  not.)  Husk  the  corn 
and  weigh  it.  Secure  also  the  yield  from  the  best  hill  and  from  the 
poorest.  At  what  rate  does  the  corn  yield  to  the  acre?  How  much 
would  it  have  yielded  had  there  been  a  perfect  stand  of  3  bearing  stalks 
per  hill?  How  much  corn  would  have  been  produced  to  the  acre  had 
there  been  a  perfect  stand  and  every  hill  yielded  as  much  as  the  best  hill? 
5.  Secure  two  samples  of  corn,  one  graded,  the  other,  ungraded,  and 
a  ho^se  corn-planter.  Block  up  the  planter  until  the  wheels  turn  free. 
Put  in  some  of  the  ungraded  seed,  and  run  the  planter  until  100  hills 
liave  been  dropped.  Count  the  kernels  dropped  for  each  hill,  and  find 
the  number  of  hills  in  100  for  w^hich  just  three  kernels  were  dropped. 
This  will  give  the  percentage  of  a  perfect  drop.  Repeat  the  process, 
using  the  graded  seed  and  changing  the  plates  until  the  most  perfect 
drop  possible  is  secured.  It  may  l^e  necessary  to  file  the  holes  in  the 
planter  plates  to  the  right  size,  but  it  is  better  to  secure  new  plates. 

REFERENCES 

Cyclopedia  of  American  Agriculture,  Bailey. 

Corn,  Bowman  and  Crossley. 

Corn  Crops,  Montgomery. 

The  Book  of  Corn,  MjTick. 

Cereals  in  America,  Hunt. 

Corn  Plants  and  How  They  Grow,  Sargent. 

Manual  of  Corn  Judging,  Shamel. 

The  Study  of  Corn,  Shoesmith. 

Field  Crop  Production,  Livingston. 

Productive  Farm  Crops,  jMontgomery. 

Farmers'  Bulletins: 

303.  Corn  Harvesting  Machinery. 

313.  Harvesting  and  Storing  Corn. 

409.  School  Lessons  in  Corn. 

414.  Corn  Cultivation. 

415.  Seed  Corn. 

537.  How  to  Grow  an  Acre  of  Corn. 

546.  How  to  Manage  a  Corn  Crop  in  Kentucky  and  West  Virginia 

559.  Use  of  Corn,  Kaffir,  and  Cowpeas  in  the  Hom(\ 

565.  Cornmeal  as  a  Food  and  Ways  of  Using  It. 

578.  The  Handling  and  Feeding  of  Silage. 

704.  Grain  Farming  in  the  Corn  Belt. 

729.  Corn  Culture  in  the  Southeastern  States 

773.  Corn  Growing  for  Drought \-  Conditions. 

948.  The  Ragdoll  Seed  Tester. 


CHAPTER  IV 

WHEAT 

DESCRIPTION  AND  CLASSIFICATION 

161.  Origin  and  History.  As  far  back  as  history  goes, 
wheat  has  been  cultivated  throughout  the  civihzed  world. 
On  account  of  its  antiquity,  it  is  somewhat  difficult  to  trace 
its  origin.  It  is  known  to  have  been  grown  extensively  in 
western  Asia,  in  Europe,  and  in  the  northern  part  of  Africa, 
ever  since  there  have  been  any  records  of  human  events, 
and  there  are  evidences  which  indicate  that  it  was  grown  in 
China  at  least  3000  B.  C.  Wheat  is  mentioned  in  the  first 
book  of  the  Bible,  and  its  use  for  bread-making  dates  back 
many  centuries. 

Wheat  belongs  to  the  grass  family  Gramineae  and  to 
the  tribe  Hordeae:  it  is  very  closely  related  to  barley  and 
rye.  Some  botanists  think  that  it  evolved,  through  a  nat- 
ural process,  from  the  wild  grass  known  as  Aegilops,  com- 
mon in  southern  Europe.  There  is  apparently  no  definite 
means  of  proving  this  theory,  and  whether  it  was  developed 
in  several  countries  independently  or  in  one  section  and 
carried  by  the  earlier  tribes  to  other  sections  is  also  unknown. 
The  important  fact  is  that  we  have  this  valuable  plant, 
adapted  to  a  very  wide  range  of  soils  and  climatic  conditions, 
giving  us  a  product  from  which  the  standard  bread  of  the 
world  is  made. 

162.  Botanical  Characters.  The  wheat  plant  is  a  true 
annual,  though  in  some  sections  it  has  been  changed  into 
what  is  known  as  a  winter  annual,  being  sown  in  the  fall  and 
maturing  early  the  following  summer.  The  numerous  fibrous 
roots  grow  in  whorls  from  the  lower  joints   of   the    stem. 

12:i 


124  FIELD  CROPS 

Most  of  the  roots  of  the  wheat  plant  are  usually  found  in 
the  surface  soil,  though  under  favorable  conditions  they 
have  been  known  to  grow  to  a  depth  of  7  feet. 

Like  most  of  the  grasses,  the  stems  of  wheat  are  jointed 
and  hollow,  except  in  the  variety  known  as  emmer,  in  which 
the  stems  are .  more  or  less  pithy.  During  the  early  stages  of 
growth,  the  stems  are  very  short,  though  the}^  verj^  early 
develop  the  entire  number  of  nodes  and  internodes.  For 
several  weeks  the  plants  devote  their  energies  to  producing 
roots  and  leaves  and  in  developing  new  stems,  or  stools. 
When  a  good  growth  of  leaves  and  roots  has  been  developed, 
the  stems  shoot  up  quickly,  simply  bj^  lengthening  the  inter- 
nodes. Stooling  is  accomplished  by  buds  which  develop  at  the 
lower  nodes  into  culms.  In  this  way  a  large  number  of  stems 
may  be  produced  from  one  seed,  the  number  being  deter- 
mined by  the  soil  and  climatic  conditions  and  the  thickness 
of  planting.  The  stems  vary  in  height  from  20  to  50  inches, 
and  in  diameter  from  Ke  to  f/g  inch. 

163.  The  Leaves.  As  soon  as  a  kernel  of  wheat  germi- 
nates, it  sends  out  leaves  and  roots  to  enable  the  plant  to 
live  after  the  supply  of  food  in  the  seed  is  exhausted.  These 
first  leaves  come  from  the  lower  joints  of  the  stem,  and  per- 
form their  work  during  the  early  growth  of  the  plant.  As 
the  stem  grows,  the  leaves  on  the  upper  nodes  develop  and 
shade  the  lower  leaves  so  that  they  wither  and  disappear. 
The  leaves  of  wheat  are  alternate,  one  leaf  appearing  from 
each  joint.  The  lower  part  of  the  leaf,  the  sheath,  clasps 
the  stem  nearly  the  entire  length  of  the  internode.  The 
sheath  is  split  open  on  the  side  opposite  the  leaf  blade,  and 
at  the  junction  of  the  sheath  and  blade  is  a  ligule  which 
clasps  the  stem  lightly.  The  blades  are  long  and  tapering; 
they  vary  from  34  to  5^  inch  in  width,  and  from  8  to  15  inches 
in  length 

164.  The  Flowers.  The  flowers  of  wheat  are  arranged  in 
a  compact  terminal  spike.     The  spike  is  made  up  of  a  num- 


WHEAT  FLOWERS 


125 


ber  of  small  spikelets,  with  two  or  more  flowers  in  each 
spikelet.  These  spikelets  are  arranged  alternately  on  the 
spike  on  either  side  of  a  central  stem,  or  rachis.  Each  indi- 
vidual flower,  or  floret,  is  composed  of  a  branched  stigma, 
three  anthers,  and  one  outer  and  one  inner  flowering  glume, 
commonly  called  the  chaff.  At  the  base  of  each  spikelet  are 
two  flowerless,  or 
empty  glumes. 
At  the  base  of  and 
between  the  two 
flowering  glumes 
is  a  small  organ 
called  the  lodi- 
cule,  which,  when 
the  stigma  is  ready 
to  be  fertilized, 
absorbs  water, 
swells,  and  forces 
open  the  glumes. 
Figure  47  shows 
a  spikelet  and  a 
flower  of  the  wheat  plant 
low  to  black. 

Wheat  is  almost  always  close-fertilized;  that  is,  each 
ovary  is  fertilized  by  the  pollen  from  the  same  flower.  The 
anthers  are  so  arranged  that  the  pollen  is  deposited  on  the 
receptive  stigma  as  the  anthers  are  being  pushed  up  out  of 
the  glumes  by  the  lengthening  of  the  filaments.  It  is  prob- 
ably very  rare  that  any  cross-fertilization  takes  place.  On 
this  account,  wheat  varieties  are  veiy  stable  in  character,  for 
it  is  much  easier  to  keep  close-fertilized  plants  pure  than 
open-fertilized  ones  like  corn  and  rye. 

The  fruit,  known  as  the  kernel,  at  maturity  is  in  the  form 
of  an  oblong  beriy  with  a  longitudinal  crease,  or  furrow,  in 
one  side.     The  kernels  naturally  vary  in  size,  color,  weight, 


Figure  47. — At  the  left,  a  wheat  flower;  at  the    right,   a 
spikelet  of  wheat  in  bloom. 


The  color  varies  from  light  yel- 


J26 


FIELD  CROPS 


Figure  48  —Types  of  wheat.  From  left  to  right,  durum,  bluestem.  and  fife. 


8EAS0X  OF  GROWTH  127 

and  composition  with  the  different  varieties  of  wheat  and 
with  cKmatic  and  soil  conditions. 

165.  Season  of  Growth.  Wheat  is  grown  successfully  on 
some  of  the  higher  altitudes  at  the  equator,  and  from  there 
all  the  way  to  within  200  miles  of  the  Arctic  Circle.  It  does 
best  in  a  temperate  climate  where  the  rainfall  is  not  less 
than  20  inches,  largely  distributed  through  the  growing  sea- 
son, and  where  the  seasons  are  sufficiently  long  to  allow  100 
to  125  days  of  good  growing  weather  free  from  frost.  Spring 
wheat  matures  in  from  100  to  125  days  from  the  time  of 
planting;  winter  wheat,  in  about  100  days  from  the  beginning 
of  the  growing  weather  in  the  spring. 

166.  Classification  and  Varieties.  Wheat  may  be  classi- 
fied in  many  different  ways;  as  winter  and  spring  wheat,  as 
hard  and  soft  wheat,  as  bread  and  durum,  or  macaroni,  wheat, 
or  by  the  botanical  differences  in  the  varieties.  Wheat  is 
commonly  divided  into  eight  classes  or  types;  but  as  onlv 
four  of  these  classes  are  of  importance  in  the  United  States, 
only  these  four  will  be  discussed. 

In  the  first  class,  Triticum  sativum  vidgare,  is  found  all 
the  common  bread  wheats,  including  the  hard  and  soft  win- 
ter and  the  hard  spring  types.  This  is  by  far  the  most  im- 
portant class.  The  second  class  is  the  durum  wheats,  Trit- 
icum sativum  durum.  It  is  distinguished  by  resistance  to 
drought  and  hardness  of  the  grain.  There  are  many  varieties 
of  this  type,  though  few  are  specially  adapted  to  this  countiy. 
The  third  class  is  known  as  club  wheat,  Triticum  sativum 
compactum.  The  wheats  of  this  type  have  short,  compact 
heads  and  produce  very  soft  grain.  They  are  commonly 
grown  in  the  Pacific  states.  The  fourth  class  of  wheat,  Trit- 
icum sativum  dicoccum,  is  known  as  emmer,  and  is  grown 
only  to  a  limited  extent  in  this  country.  It  is  often  errone- 
ously called  spelt.  This  differs  from  common  wheat  in  that  the 
hull  remains  with  the  kernel  when  it  is  thrashed  and  the 
stems  are  pithy  instead  of  hollow.     When  growing,  it  is  veiy 


128  FIELD  CROPS 


^^  ^  y  ^  ^  ^ 

(I  I  1^  I  I  I 


M  ^   9   1^1 

^  I  y  1^  y  y 

i^  i  ^  t^  i  • 


Figure  49. — Kernels  of  three  types  of  wheat.  Two  upper  rows,  hard  red  spiing 
(Preston") ;  two  middle  rows,  durum  (Kubanka) ;  two  lower  rows,  hard  red 
winter  (Turkey). 


WINTER  AND  SPRING  WHEAT  129 

similar  in  appearance  to  common  wheat.  From  an  economic 
standpoint,  emmer  is  best  compared  with  barley  or  oats,  as 
it  is  grown  in  this  country  only  for  feed.  It  is  better  adapted 
to  dry-land  conditions  than  common  wheat,  and  is  of  some 
importance  where  the  rainfall  is  limited. 

Varieties  of  common  wheat  are  numerous,  but  varietal 
names,  as  in  other  common  crops,  are  very  misleading  on 
account  of  the  natural  variation  due  to  wide  distribution. 

167.  Winter  Wheat.  From  60  to  70  per  cent  of  the 
wheat  grown  in  the  United  States  is  winter  wheat;  a  large 
proportion  of  this  is  of  the  Turkey  variety,  which  is  the 
standard  hard  winter  wheat.  The  hard  winter  wheats  are 
grown  largely  in  Kansas  and  Nebraska;  the  soft  winter 
varieties  are  produced  in  the  states  east  of  the  Mississippi 
River.  The  leading  states  in  the  production  of  winter  wheat 
are  Kansas,  Nebraska,  Illinois,  Indiana,  Ohio,  Missouri, 
Pennsylvania,  Oklahoma,  and  Texas;  in  these  states  over 
60  per  cent  of  the  winter  wheat  crop  of  the  United  States 
is  produced.  The  principal  limitation  to  the  more  extensive 
production  of  winter  wheat  is  winterkilling. 

168.  Spring  Wheat.  Minnesota  and  North  and  South 
Dakota  produce  about  70  per  cent  of  the  spring  wheat  of  the 
United  States,  a  very  large  proportion  of  which  is  either  of 
the  fife  or  bluestem  type.  There  are  several  varieties  of 
these  two  types,  but  in  each  type  the  varieties  are  quite 
similar.  These  types  do  not  differ  materially  in  composi- 
tion or  value.  They  are  both  standard  hard  spring  wheats. 
In  some  sections  one  kind  is  preferred,  while  elsewhere  the 
other  seems  to  be  more  satisfactory.  The  chief  differences 
are  in  the  chaff  and  the  habit  of  shattering.  Bluestem 
wheat  has  hairy  chaff,  while  the  chaff  of  fife  wheat  is  smooth . 
The  bluestem  type  is  a  little  more  incUned  to  shatter  when 
mature  than  the  fife.  The  most  popular  variety  of  hard 
spring  wheat  at  present  is  the  Marquis,  an  early  variety  of 
the  fife  type. 

9— 


130 


FIELD  CROPS 


169.  Durum  Wheat.  Durum  wheat  is  grown  to  some 
extent  in  the  spring  wheat  belt.  It  is  used  for  flour-making, 
but  its  special  use  is  for  the  production  of  macaroni.  In  the 
best  spring  wheat  sections,  durum  wheat  does  not  yield  as 
well  or  produce  grain  of  as  good  quality  as  it  does  in  the 
somewhat  drier  sections.  It  seems  best  adapted  to  the 
semiarid  region,  where  there  is  not  suflicient  moisture  to 
produce  satisfactory  crops  of  common  spring  wheat. 

IMPORTANCE  OF  THE  CROP 

170.  World  Production.  The  countries  leading  in  the 
production  of  wheat  in  1914,  the  last  year  for  wliich  accurate 
statistics  are  available,  with  the  acreage  and  production  of 
each  according  to  the  Bureau  of  Crop  Estimates  of  the 
United  States  Department  of  Agriculture,  are  shown  in 
Table  VI. 

Table   VI.     Leading  countries  in  the  production  of  wheat,  with  the 
acreage  and  production  of  each  in  1914. 


Country 

United  States 

European  Russia 

France 

British  India 

Austria-Hungary 

Italy 

Canada 

Argentina 

Australia 


Acreage 


53,541,000 
62,316,000 
16,049,000 
27,697,000 
12,664,000 
11,783,000 
10,293,000 
16,242,000 
9,453,000 


Bushels 


891,017,000 
597,000,000 
319,677,000 
314,608,000 
190,655,000 
169,442,000 
161,280,000 
113,904,000 
112.159,000 


The  figures  above  given  are  the  latest  which  are  now 
available,  as  crop  production  has  been  greatly  disturbed 
since  1914  by  the  world  war.  The  total  world  production  of 
wheat  is  normally  about  4,000,000,000  bushels,  or  about  the 
same  as  that  of  oats  and  com.  Owing  to  the  higher  weight 
per  bushel,  more  pounds  of  wheat  are  produced  than  of  either 
corn  or  oats,  while  the  total  cash  value  of  the  crop  is  greater 
than  that  of  corn  and  oats  combined. 


PRODUCTION  OF  WHEAT 


131 


In  the  five  years  from  1910  to  1914  the  average  annual 
production  of  wheat  in  the  United  States  was  728,225,000 
bushels,  or  about  18.2  per  cent  of  the  world  crop.  During 
the  same  years,  European  Russia  averaged  annually  647,000,- 
000  bushels;  British  India,  355,000,000  bushels;  France, 
310,000,000  bushels;  Austria-Hungary,  235,000,000  bushels; 
and  Italy,  179,000,000  bushels. 

171.  Production  in  the  United  States.  In  the  United 
States,  wheat  ranks  third  in  the  number  of  bushels  produced, 
the  yield  of  both  corn  and  oats  being  much  larger,  but  in  the 
weight  of  the  crop  wheat  ranks  second  to  corn.  Wheat 
is  likewise  second  to  corn  in  total  value  among  the 
cereals,  but  hay  and  cotton  often  outclass  wheat  in  this 
respect.  For  the  ten  years  from  1908  to  1917  an  average 
of  49,531,000  acres  have  been  devoted  to  the  production  of 
wheat,  and  the  annual  production  averaged  730,205,000 
bushels,  valued  at  $770,339,000.  The  average  annual  acre- 
age, production  and  value  of  wheat  in  the  ten  states  lead- 
ing in  production  in  the  ten  years  are  given  in  Table  VII. 


Table  VII.  Average  annual  acreage,  acre  yield,  production,  and 
farm  value  of  wheat  in  the  ten  states  of  largest  production  in  the 
ten  years  from  1908  to  1917,  inclusive. 


State 

Acreage 

Average 

yield 
per  acre 

Production 

Farm  value 
December  1 

Kansas 

Acres 

6,336,000 
7,622,000 
4,049,000 
2,941,000 
1,971,000 
3,554,000 
2,143,000 
2,137,000 
1,890,000 
2,174,000 
14,716,000 

Bushels 

13.8 
11.0 
14.0 
17.1 
21.7 
11.4 
15.6 
15.4 
16.4 
13.7 
16.1 

Bushels 

87,839,000 
84,847,000 
56,688,000 
51,108,000 
42,146,000 
40,472,000 
34,504,000 
34,016,000 
31,899,000 
29,906,000 
236,780,000 

Dollars 

89,592,000 
81,279,000 
58,797,000 
48,995,000 
39,370,000 
41,608,000 
37,165,000 
37,883,000 
37,305,000 
31,796,000 
266,549,000 

North  Dakota .  .  . 

Minnesota 

Nebraska 

Washington 

South  Dakota .  .  . 
Illinois 

Indiana... 

Ohio 

Missouri 

All  others 

United  States.... 

49,531,000 

14.7 

730,205,000 

770,339,000 

132 


FIELD  CBOPS 


PRODUCTWy  OF  WHEAT  133 

Table  VII  and  Figure  61  show  Kansas,  North  Dakota, 
Minnesota,  Nebraska,  and  Washington  to  be  the  leading 
wheat  states.  These  five  states  produce  44  per  cent  of  the 
entire  wheat  crop  of  the  United  States.  The  ten  states  in- 
cluded in  Table  VII  produce  67  per  cent  of  the  entire  wheat 
KAS.    mm^mm^^^m^^H^im^^mi^^^mKm^ma^m^mmmmm  12.03% 

MlNN.^^K^^aa^^m^ma^^m^a^^^^m  6.76% 
NEB.    ^mmm^^am^K^i^^m^mmmmm  7.00% 
WASK.^^mmmmmmm^K^K^mmm  5.77% 
S.  D.   ^mmma^^mmmmmamm^  5.54% 
ILL.     ^mmt^mammmmmmam  4.73% 

IND.     HH^BHHI^B^HHHBi  4.66% 
OHIO  ^^■^■^^■■^^■■1  4.37% 

MO.    ^^^a^m^immm^  4.10% 

Figure  51.— The  percentage  of  the  wheat  crop  in  the  United  States  produced  in 
each  of  the  ten  states  of  largest  production,  1908-1917. 

crop  of  the  United  States,  which  locates  the  wheat  belt  in 
the  North  Central  states. 

The  importance  of  the  crop  in  the  various  states  is  best 
shown  by  the  proportion  of  the  improved  farm  acreage  which 
is  annually  devoted  to  it.  Slightly  more  than  one  tenth 
(10.3  per  cent)  of  the  improved  farm  acreage  of  the  United 
States  was  devoted  to  wheat  from  1908  to  1917.  A  larger 
proportion  of  the  improved  farm  land  was  sown  to  this 
crop  in  North  Dakota  than  in  any  other  state,  as  shown  by 
KAS.    t^^^^^^mm^ammmm  2l.27o 

MINN.^^HBBB^IBBIHHHHHHI  20.6% 
NEB.     ^^^■^■1^^12.1% 

WASK.^mmm^tmmm^^m^mmm/m^mmM  30.9% 

S.  D.     ^Hi^^^i^^^H^^HHBB  22.5% 

ILL.     ^^^mmi  7.6% 
IND.    mmmmmmmmm  12.6% 
OHIO 

MO. 

Figure  52. — The  percentage  of  improved  farm  land  which  is  annually  planted  to 
■wheat  in  the  ten  states  of  largest  production  and  in  the  United  States,  1908-1917. 

Figure  52.  In  Kansas,  ^linnesota,  Washington,  and  South 
Dakota  more  than  one  fifth  of  the  improved  farm  land  was 
devoted  to  wheat. 


184  FIELD  CROPS 

172.  Acre  Yield.  The  most  important  wheat-producing 
states  are  by  no  means  the  states  with  the  highest  acre 
yields;  in  fact  the  reverse  is  usually  true.  Of  the  ten  leading 
wheat-producing  states,  Washington  holds  first  place  on 
the  basis  of  acre  yield;  Nebraska,  second;  Ohio,  third;  Illi- 
nois, fourth;  Indiana,  fifth; Minnesota, sixth; Kansas, seventh; 
Missouri,  eighth;  South  Dakota,  ninth;  and  North  Dakota, 
tenth.  The  average  yield  in  the  United  States  in  the  ten 
years  from  1908  to  1917  was  14.7  bushels  to  the  acre.  Nevada 
has  the  highest  average  yield  for  the  same  period,  28.6  bushels 
but  this  is  only  on  30,000  to  40,000  acres.  North  Carolina, 
South  Carolina,  and  Georgia  have  the  lowest  average  yield, 
10.6  bushels.  Under  favorable  conditions,  yields  of  30 
bushels  or  more  may  be  obtained  in  any  of  the  states.  The 
average  is  kept  down  by  poor  methods  of  culture,  insects,  dis- 
eases, storms,  and  unfavorable  weather  conditions.  The 
largest  yield  per  acre  of  wheat  ever  recorded,  so  far  as  ascer- 
tained by  the  Bureau  of  Crop  Estimates,  is  117.2  bushels, 
produced  in  1895  on  an  18-acre  field  in  Washington.  The 
variety  was  Australian  Club.  The  field  consisted  of  black 
sandy  loam  and  clay  subsoil  and  had  previously  been  in 
pasture  and  potatoes.  The  average  value  of  the  wheat  crop 
to  the  acre  is  not  in  exact  proportion  to  the  yield,  for  the 
price  per  bushel  varies  greatly  in  different  sections,  according 
to  distance  from  terminal  markets.  On  account  of  high 
average  yield,  the  highest  average  acre  value  of  wheat,  as 
shown  by  statistics  is  in  Nevada. 

SOILS  AND  FERTILIZERS 

173.  Soils.  Wheat  is  adapted  to  a  very  wide  range  of 
soils,  and  grain  of  excellent  quaUty  is  produced  on  very  light 
as  well  as  on  very  hesLvy  soils.  The  type  of  soil  does  not  seem 
to  affect  the  crop  greatly,  either  in  quality  or  quantity,  so 
long  as  the  needed  plant  food  and  moisture  are  available. 
These  conditions  may  be  supplied  on  almost  any  arable  soil, 


SOILS  AJND  FERTILIZERS  135 

by  good  methods  of  cropping  and  tillage.  As  a  rule,  how- 
ever, the  better  the  soil  the  better  the  yield,  unless  the  land  is 
so  rich  that  the  crop  lodges  before  it  matures,  in  which  case 
grain  of  poor  quality  is  sure  to  be  produced. 

The  best  wheat  sections  are  in  that  portion  of  the  tem- 
perate zones  where  there  is  an  annual  rainfall  of  from  20  to  40 
inches,  distributed  quite  uniformly  throughout  the  growing 
season.  Wheat,  however,  is  grown  in  the  Pacific  states, 
where  most  of  the  rainfall  comes  during  the  winter  and  very 
little  of  it  during  the  growing  season ;  but  soils  in  this  section 
have  great  water-holding  capacity,  which  enables  them  to 
hold  the  moisture  till  it  is  needed  by  the  crop.  Wheat  is 
also  grown  under  irrigation  with  very  satisfactory  results. 

174.  Manures  and  Fertilizers.  Grain  is  the  chief 
product  of  the  wheat  crop.  It  removes  from  the  farm  con- 
siderable amounts  of  nitrogen,  phosphoric  acid,  and  potash. 
Of  the  mineral  constituents  of  wheat  the  grain  contains  about 
50  per  cent  of  phosphoric  anhydride  and  33  per  cent  of 
potash,  while  in  the  straw  there  is  only  about  3  per  cent  of 
phosphoric  anhydride  and  15  per  cent  of  potash.  Most  of 
the  soils  in  the  wheat  belt  have  a  much  larger  supply  of 
potash  than  of  nitrogen  and  phosphoric  acid,  and  as  the 
potash  is  used  more  largely  in  the  production  of  straw,  which 
as  a  rule  remains  on  the  farm,  nitrogen  and  phosphorus  are 
first  depleted.  Where  live  stock  is  kept,  clover  grown,  and 
the  land  manured  frequently,  satisfactory  yields  of  wheat 
may  be  obtained  on  naturally  fertile  soils  for  generations 
without  the  addition  of  commercial  fertilizers.  But  where 
wheat  is  the  main  crop  or  where  wheat  and  other  exhaustive 
crops  are  grown  and  land  is  seldom  if  ever  manured,  it  ulti- 
mately becomes  necessaiy  to  add  to  the  soil  some  kind  of 
commercial  fertilizer  that  will  supply  the  needed  elements  as 
they  become  deficient.  Clover  may  be  grown  to  add  nitro- 
gen, and  clover,  green  manure,  and  stable  manure  will  main- 
tain the  supply  of  vegetable  matter.      Where  this  practice 


136  FIELD  CROPS 

is  followed,  about  the  only  element  that  must  be  supplied  by 
means  of  commercial  fertilizer  is  phosphorus. 

Experiments  have  shown  that  during  the  first  half  of 
its  growth  wheat  appropriates  about  85  per  cent  of  its 
mineral  constituents,  while  during  the  subsequent  period 
of  its  growth  it  is  developing  its  starch  and  cellulose  ingredi- 
ents which  are  taken  largety  from  the  air.  These  facts  have 
bearing  on  the  problem  of  its  fertihzation. 

In  the  East  and  South,  where  the  soils  have  become  worn 
by  long  continued  cropping,  commercial  fertilizers  are  usually 
applied  for  each  crop.  Likewise,  in  some  of  the  Central 
states  the  appUcation  of  commercial  fertilizers  is  becoming 
necessary  in  many  localities  to  insure  profitable  yields. 
The  kind  and  amount  of  fertilizer  most  profitable  to  apply 
can  be  determined  only  by  careful  trials  in  each  locaUty  and 
on  each  type  of  soil.  A  very  common  practice  is  to  apply  at 
seeding  time  from  200  to  300  pounds  of  fertilizer  to  the  acre, 
containing  about  2  per  cent  available  nitrogen,  8  per  cent 
available  phosphoric  acid,  and  2  per  cent  potash.  In  many 
localities,  where  a  supply  of  vegetable  matter  and  nitrogen 
is  maintained  by  growing  clover  and  by  applying  stable 
manure,  the  application  of  either  raw  or  treated  rock  phos- 
phate is  sufficient  to  provide  for  satisfactory  yields. 

GROWING  THE  CROP 

175.  Preparation  of  the  Land.  The  preparation  of  the 
land  does  not  differ  materially  for  winter  or  spring  wheat, 
though  the  crops  are  seeded  at  different  seasons  of  the  year. 
The  main  object  in  the  preparation  of  the  soil  for  wheat  is  to 
produce  a  mellow,  firm  seed  bed  with  sufficient  loose  soil  on 
the  surface  to  check  the  rapid  evaporation  of  moisture,  and  to 
provide  a  hospitable  place  for  the  plants  to  grow.  Where 
possible,  land  is  plowed  for  wheat,  though  sometimes  the  crop 
is  seeded  on  disked  corn  or  stubble  land.  The  better  practice 
is  to  plow  the  land.     To  prepare  newly  plowed  land  for 


OROWINO  WHEAT  187 

winter  wheat  seeding,  it  is  necessary  to  harrow  the  soil  at 
once  very  thoroughly,  to  pack  down  the  lower  part  of  the  fur- 
row slice  so  that  it  will  not  diy  out.  The  object  of  this 
harrowing  is  to  retain  sufficient  moisture  in  the  furrow  slice 
for  germination,  which  is  not  done  if  the  soil  is  left  loose  and 
lumpy.     It  is  also  desirable  to  harrow  and  disk  the  plowing 


Figure  53. — The  disk  harrow  is  one  of  the  most  effective  tools  to  use  in  pre- 
paring a  good  .seed  bed.  Double  disking,  as  shown  here,  leaves  a  level 
surface. 

sufficiently  to  pack  the  lower  part  of  the  furrow  slice  so  that 
the  moisture  in  the  subsoil  may  be  brought  by  capillarity  to 
the  surface,  where  the  grain  is  planted  and  the  roots  begin 
their  growth. 

Early  plowing  is  said  to  jdeld  from  3  to  10  bushels  more 
wheat  per  acre  than  late  plowing.  It  also  has  the  advantage 
that  it  helps  to  eradicate  weeds. 

If  spring  wheat  is  to  be  sown  and  the  land  is  fall-plowed, 
it  is  not  desirable  to  harrow  it  during  the  fall.  If  the  soil  is 
left  rough,  it  is  acted  on  more  fully  by  the  elements,  is  in 
better  condition  to  take  up  the  moisture  that  falls,  holds 
snow  better,  and  is  more  easily  prepared  in  the  spring  than 


138  FIELD  CROPi< 

if  it  is  han'owed  smooth  in  the  fall.  In  the  semiarid  regions 
where  the  soil  must  be  thoroughly  cultivated  in  one  season 
and  enough  moisture  stored  in  it  to  grow  a  crop  the  following 
year,  the  plan  just  given  would  not  be  advisable,  for  it  is 
necessary'  to  harrow  after  heavy  rains  in  order  to  retain  the 
moisture  which  falls. 

To  prepare  fall-plowed  land  for  wheat  in  the  spring,  thor- 
ough disking  and  harrowing  are  necessary.  Spring-plow^ed 
land  is  prepared  for  spring  wheat  in  the  same  manner  as  fall- 
plowed  land  for  winter  wheat. 

176.  Preparing  Seed  for  Planting.  Wheat  grown  in  the 
vicinity,  graded  to  maximum  weight  and  quality,  and  free 
from  foul  seed,  has  been  shown  by  numerous  experiments  to 
be  the  best  that  is  possible  to  obtain  for  the  main  crop.  On 
many  farms,  a  great  many  weed  seeds  and  seeds  of  grain  of 
inferior  quality  are  sown  with  the  seed  wheat.  It  is  not  rea- 
sonable to  expect  better  grain  in  the  harvested  crop  than  is 
sown.  Wheat  grown  continuously  in  one  community  is 
often  said  to  run  out,  and  frequently  the  practice  of  chang- 
ing seed  grain  every  few  years  is  followed.  This  is  not  the 
best  practice,  for  it  has  been  shown  beyond  any  question  of 
doubt  that  if  the  home-grown  grain  is  carefully  graded  each 
year  and  the  best  used  for  seed,  it  will  not  run  out,  but  may 
be  gradually  improved. 

On  the  general  farm,  there  is  not  sufficient  time  to  permit 
the  careful  breeding  and  selection  of  grain  as  practiced  by 
careful  plant  breeders;  but  it  is  entirely  practical  to  select 
a  small  proportion  of  the  best  grain  by  running  a  quantity 
of  it  through  a  common  fanning  mill,  and  in  this  wa^^  to 
select  the  heaviest  and  plumpest  kernels. 

177.  Fanning  Mill  Selection.  Fanning  mills  separate 
grain  by  size  and  shape  of  kernel,  and  by  weight  of  kernel. 
In  some  makes  of  mills  one  of  these  methods  is  employed, 
and  in  others  both  are  used.  The  mill  which  separates  by 
only  one  of  these  means  cannot  do  as  satisfactoiy  work  as 


NEW  VARIETIES  GF  WHEAT 


139 


Figure    54. — Diagram 


fanning    mill, 


one  in  which  both  are  used.  With  a  mill  using  both  methods, 
the  heavy  and  light  kernels  of  wheat  can  be  separated; 
the  heavy  kernels  can  then  be  run  over  a  screen  of 
the  proper  size  so  that-  the  smaller  ones  will  be  taken  out 
and  only  the  larger  ones  left  for  seed.  In  this  comparatively 
easy  way  the  very  best  seed  grain  can  be  obtained. 

It  is  known  that  in  a  herd 
of  cattle  some  individuals  are 
superior  to  others.  It  is  as 
reasonable  to  expect  that  in  a 
large  number  of  wheat  plants 
or  wheat  kernels  the  same 
variation  will  be  found. 
Careful  observation  of  a 
handful  of  wheat  will  con- 
vince one  of  this  fact.  It  is 
probable  that  in  the  field 
where  thousands  of  individual 
kernels  are  sown,  some  of 
them  will  be  better  adapted 

to  the  soil  and  other  conditions  than  others.  Those  best 
adapted  will  naturally  make  the  most  perfect  growth,  and  will 
accordingly  produce  the  most  perfect  kernels.  If  the  most 
perfect  kernels  are  graded  out  by  means  of  a  fanning  mill,  as 
suggested,  then  seed  from  the  individual  plants  best  adapted 
to  the  field  and  climatic  conditions  is  obtained.  Thus  one 
may  easily  and  rapidly  grade  seed  and  maintain  it  at  a  high 
standard,  or  even  improve  it. 

Seed  wheat,  cleaned  and  graded  as  just  suggested  and 
then  treated  for  smut  (Section  196,  c),  is  good  seed  to  sow. 

178.  Obtaining  New  Varieties.  It  is  often  desirable  to 
obtain  new  and  improved  varieties  of  grain.  The  main  part 
of  the  crop,  however,  should  be  sown  with  seed  graded  from 
home-grown  stock,  and  any  new  and  promising  variety 
tried  in  a  small  way  for  at  least  two  years,  in  comparison 


showing  a  method  of  grading  seed  grain, 
the  " 
htgra 
left;  the  heavier  grain  falls  on  screen  3, 


The  wind  blast  from  the  fan  at  the  right 
blows  the  chaff  and  light  grain  out  at  the 


through  which  the  smaller  kernels  fall, 
leaving  the  large,  heavy  kernels  for  seed. 


140  FIELD  CROPS 

with  such  carefully  graded  seed.  Unless  the  new  variety 
proves  superior  to  the  old  one  under  the  conditions  of  the 
farm,  it  of  course  will  be  better  not  to  change. 

179.  Sowing.  Better  results  are  usually  obtained  by 
sowing  wheat  with  the  drill  than  by  sowing  broadcast. 
The  drill  covers  all  the  kernels,  as  can  not  be  done  with  a 
broadcast  seeder,  and  all  kernels  are  placed  at  a  uniform 
depth.  If  judgment  is  used  in  running  the  drill,  the  seed  is 
sown  just  deep  enough  to  insure  sufficient  moisture  for  germi- 
nation, and  not  so  deep  as  to  make  it  difficult  for  the  plants 
to  get  through  the  surface  soil.  When  grain  is  sown  broad- 
cast a  portion  is  left  on  top,  where  under  ordinary  conditions 
it  will  not  grow,  and  where  it  is  readily  picked  up  by  birds. 
Drilling  also  insures  a  more  uniform  distribution  of  the  seed, 
and  requires  less  of  it. 

The  amount  of  seed  to  sow  depends  on  the  variety,  its 
size  and  germinating  power,  the  method  of  sowing,  soil,  and 
climate.  A  fair  average  throughout  the  United  States  is 
a,bout  5  pecks  per  acre.  The  amount  varies  from  as  little 
as  2  pecks  in  parts  of  California  to  8  or  9  pecks  in  Ohio. 
About  6  pecks  are  sown  in  the  spring  wheat  regions.  In 
general,  the  heavy  clay  soils  require  more  and  the  hghter 
and  warmer  soils,  with  the  dry-farming  sections,  less.  It 
is  always  safer  to  sow  plentifully,  and  yet  it  has  been  found 
that  the  yield  is  not  always  in  proportion  to  the  amount 
which  is  sown. 

180.  Time  of  Sowing.  The  time  of  sowing  winter  wheat 
varies  with  the  locahty.  It  is  desirable  to  sow  it  early 
enough  so  that  considerable  root  growth  can  be  made  before 
winter.  In  the  northern  wheat  regions,  winter  wheat  is 
usually  sawn  in  September.  Farther  south,  it  may  be 
sown  much  later.  Spring  wheat,  as  a  rule,  does  best  when 
sown  early  in  the  season.  Wheat  will  germinate  at  a  com- 
paratively low  temperature,  and  a  crop  of  wheat  is  very  sel- 
dom injured  by  cold  or  freezing  weather.     On  this  account 


HARROWING  WHEAT  141 

the  general  practice  is  to  sow  wheat  as  early  in  the  spring  as 
a  good  seed  bed  can  be  prepared.  When  wheat  is  sown  early, 
the  cool  weather  of  spring  causes  the  development  of  a  heavy 
root  system  and  induces  stooling;  while,  if  it  is  seeded  late, 
the  stems  shoot  up  so  quickly  that  there  is  little  chance  for 
stoohng.     Other  reasons  for  early  seeding  are  to  avoid  as 


Figure  55. — Plowing,  seeding,  and  harrowing  at  one  operation.    .A  .common 
method  of  sowing  wheat  on  the  large  wheat  farms  of  the  Western  states. 

much  as  possil^le  the  ravages  of  diseases  and  insects  and  to 
avoid  the  damage  of  storms,  which  are  usually  more  severe 
in  the  latter   part  of  the  growing  season. 

181.  Harrowing.  Harrowing  grain  after  it  is  up  is  not  a 
common  practice,  though  it  sometimes  gives  very  good 
results.  Spring  wheat  is  sometimes  harrowed  after  it  is  up, 
especiallj^  if  there  is  a  tendency  for  a  crust  to  form  on  top  of 
the  soil.  Harrowing  breaks  up  this  crust  by  forming  a  slight 
dust  mulch,  w^hich  aids  in  checking  the  evaporation  of  mois- 
ture and  also  aids  in  destroying  weeds.  Some  of  the  grain  is 
injured  by  this  practice,  which  fact  no  doubt  is  the  reason 
why  the  practice  is  so  uncommon.  Drilled  wheat  only 
should  be  harrowed  and  the  harrow  should  be  run  in  the 
direction  of  the  drill  rows  and  not  across  them.  Of  course 
the  grain  should  be  well  rooted  before  it  is  harrowed. 


142 


FIELD  CROPS 


HARVESTING  AND  THRESHING 
182.  Harvesting.  With  the  exception  of  a  considerable 
acreage  in  the  Pacific  states,  wheat  is  harvested  as  soon  as 
it  is  ripe,  to  avoid  loss  by  crinkling  and  shattering  and  from 
storms.  East  of  the  Great  Plains  grain  is  usually  cut  with 
the  binder  and  handled  in  the  bundle.     Headers  (machines 


Figure  50. —Cutting  wheat  with  binders  on  a  North  Dakota  farm.  Note  the 
rape  in  the  wheat  stubble  in  the  foreground.  After  harvest,  sheep  are 
turned  into  the  field  to  pasture  on  the  rape  and  the  gleanings. 


that  cut  off  the  heads  of  the  standing  wheat  and  elevate 
them  into  wagon  boxes  driven  alongside)  are  used  in  the 
western  Great  Plains  area  and  to  some  extent  west  of  the 
Rocky  Mountains.  In  the  Pacific  states,  where  there  is  no 
rain  for  several  weeks  during  the  harvest  season,  the  grain 
is  allowed  to  become  thoroughly  ripe  and  dry  and  is  then 
harvested  with  a  combined  harvester  and  thresher,  or  "com- 
bine" (Figure  59).  Such  machines  cannot  be  used  east  of 
the  Great  Plains  area,  on  account  of  the  unfavorable  weather. 
183.  Shocking  Wheat.  One  of  the  qualities  desired  in 
good  milling  wheat  is  bright  color.     If  wheat  is  exposed 


^HOCKIl^G  WHEAT 


143 


to  rain  and  dew  after  it  is  ripe,  it  loses  this  desirable  bright- 
ness. On  this  account  it  is  the  usual  practice  to  shock 
wheat  as  soon  as  it  is  cut  and  to  cap  the  shocks  so  that  a 
large  portion  of  the  heads  will  be  protected  from  the  weather 
and  thus  retain  the  bright  color  of  the  kernels. 

There  are  two 
types  of  shocks  well 
adapted  to  the  pro- 
tection of  wheat. 
The  one  known  as 
the  9-bundle  round 
shock  is  made  by  set- 
ting up  a  pair  of  bun- 
dles and  then  setting 
another  pair  so  that 
they  lean  against 
opposite  sides  of  the 
first  two.  This  will 
make  a  4-bundle 
shock,  one  bundle  at 
each  corner.     The 

next  four  bundles  are  set  against  the  first  four,  just  filling 
the  open  spaces  between  the  bundles.  The  whole  is  then 
capped  with  one  bundle  which  is  spread  out  at  both  the 
top  and  butt  ends  to  cover  as  much  of  the  shock  as  possible. 
Care  must  be  exercised  in  placing  the  cap  bundle  that  the 
butt  end  does  not  extend  out  over  the  side  of  the  shock  so 
that  the  wind  can  get  under  the  bundle  and  blow  it  off.  It 
is  not  so  likely  to  blow  a  bundle  off  the  head  end,  because 
the  heads  are  heavy  enough  so  that  when  the  shock  is  set- 
tled they  will  lie  down  against  the  shock. 

The  other  type  of  shock  is  known  as  the  12-bundle 
shock.  This  is  made  by  setting  three  pairs  of  bundles  in  a 
row  against  one  another,  usually  setting  the  long  way  of 
the  shock  north  and  south;  then  the  two  open  spaces  on  each 


Figure  57.  —  A  well-built  wheat  shock  which  will 
withstand  storms  and  in  which  the  grain  is  well 
protected  from  weathering. 


144  FIELD  CROPS 

side  of  the  shock  are  filled  by  placing  two  bundles  against 
each  side.  Two  bundles  are  used  for  the  cap.  These  bun- 
dles are  laid  lengthwise  of  the  shock,  and  care  is  taken  so 
that  the  butts  of  the  bundles  do  not  extend  out  over  the 
shock.  This  is  a  very  good  form  of  shock  for  any  kind  of 
grain.  Figure  57  shows  a  well-built  shock.  It  is  worth 
while  to  build  shocks  in  the  best  way  possible. 


Figure  08. — Stacksof  wheat  a  waiting  the  thre.-hini:cmafhi  ne.   Abetter  quality  of  strain 
ia  usually  obtained  from  stacking  than  from  threshing  from  the  shock. 

184.  Stacking.  Much  of  the  wheat  grown  in  the  United 
States  is  stacked  before  it  is  threshed.  A  stack  is  usually 
made  by  starting  a  round  shock  and  continuing  to  lean 
bundles  against  it  until  a  bottom  of  the  desired  size  is  made. 
The  stack  is  then  built  up  by  laying  the  bundles  horizontally 
in  tiers  beginning  from  the  outside,  the  inner  tiers  lapping 
over  the  next  outer  tier,  thus  holding  the  stack  together. 
A  grain  stack  is  usually  built  up  quite  level  for  the  lower  6 
to  10  feet.  Each  outer  tier  of  bundles  is  extended  out  over 
the  stack  a  few  inches  so  that  the  stack  is  larger  in  circum- 
ference at  a  height  of  from  4  to  8  feet  than  it  is  on  the  ground. 
This  projection  is  called  ''the  bulge."  The  bulge  permits 
the  outer  edge  of  the  stack  to  settle  more  than  the  center, 
which  gives  a  slant  to  all  outer  bundles  so  that  they  may 
shed  water.     When  the  stack  has  been  laid  out  to  the  size 


THRESHING  WHEAT  145 

and  height  desired,  the  middle  is  then  filled  quite  full,  by 
putting  in  additional  courses  of  bundles,  so  as  to  give  a  good 
slant  to  all  the  outside  bundles.  Each  succeeding  outside 
tier  is  then  drawn  in  from  4  to  6  inches  farther  than  the  tier 
next  under  it.  In  this  way  the  stack  grows  gradually  smaller 
as  it  gets  higher,  until  it  is  finally  finished  in  a  nicely  rounded 


Figure   39. — Combined  harvester  and   thresher  drawn  by  traction  engine. 

peak.  The  top  bundles  are  usually  held  in  place  by  pushing 
a  stick  8  or  10  feet  long,  sharpened  at  both  ends,  down  into 
the  center  of  the  stack.  Sometimes  an  inverted  bundle,  with 
the  band  near  the  butt,  is  put  down  over  the  sharp  stick, 
as  the  final  cap  of  the  stack.  In  some  cases  the  peak  is 
covered  with  a  forkful  of  hay.  Care  must  be  taken  not  to 
make  the  top  of  the  stack  too  steep,  as  it  may  be  blown  off. 
185.  Threshing,  Wheat  maj^  be  threshed  from  the 
shock  or  stack  as  desired.  Threshing  from  the  shock  is 
cheaper,  and  is  desirable  if  one  can  get  the  threshing  machine 
at  the  proper  time  so  the  work  can  l^e  done  as  soon  as  the 
grain  is  in  fit  condition.  On  farms  of  moderate  size,  where 
the  threshing  is  hired,  it  is  seldom  possible  to  get  the  machine 
just  when  desired.  The  difference  in  cost  is  not  sufficient  to 
warrant  taking  chances  of  injury  to  the  grain  by  bad  weather, 
and  it  is  better  to  stack  wheat  as  soon  as  it  is  dry  enough 
after  cutting  than  to  take  chances  l)y  waiting  for  a  machine. 


146 


FIELD  CKOPB 


When  wheat  is  stacked,  it  goes  through  what  is  called  a 
sweating  process;  that  is,  it  warms  up  sHghtly,  becomes 
moist,  and  the  straw  gets  tough  and  remains  so  for  two  to 


Figure  60. 


•An  elevator  where  wheat  is  stored  and  from  which  it  is  loaded  into 
boats  for  shipment. 


three  weeks.  Wheat  is  believed  to  have  a  sUghtly  better 
color  if  allowed  to  go  through  this  sweating  process  in  the 
stack.  On  this  account  many  persons  prefer  to  stack  their 
wheat  before  it  is  threshed. 

186.  Storing.  Wheat  may  be  satisfactorily  stored  in  any 
l^in  or  room  that  will  protect  it  from  rain,  if  it  is  dry  when 
stored.  If  wheat  is  threshed  soon  after  it  is  cut,  it  will 
sweat  in  the  bin,  and  in  that  condition  it  is  not  safe  to  put 
large  quantities  of  the  grain  in  one  place,  for  it  is  likely  to 


MARKETING  WHEAT  147 

heat  and  be  injured  in  quality.  After  grain  has  been  stacked 
for  three  or  four  weeks,  it  has  then  gone  through  this  "sweat," 
and  may  be  safely  stored  in  large  bins. 

As  wheat  is  a  dry  grain,  it  does  not  usualty  lose  more 
than  2  or  3  per  cent  from  shrinkage  in  storage. 

Much  grain  is  sold  from  the  farm  soon  after  it  is  har- 
vested.    This  is  largely  held  in  elevators. 

An  interesting  treatment  of  storage  in  elevators  is  found 
in  The  Book  of  Wheat.  State  and  Federal  "Acts"  should 
be  consulted  on  this  subject. 

MARKETING  AND  .MARKET  GRADES 

187.  Marketing.  The  usual  practice  is  to  market  the 
crop  soon  after  it  is  threshed.  Farmers  occasionally  hold 
their  wheat  for  several  months  with  a  view  to  getting  better 
prices,  but  the  practice  as  a  rule  does  not  prove  profitable. 
Under  the  present  war  conditions  (1918),  the  price  of  wheat 
for  the  year's  crop  is  fixed  by  the  President,  so  that  there  is 
no  inducement  to  the  farmer  or  any  one  else  to  hold  it  for 
higher  prices.  There  is  considerable  shrinkage  in  wheat  in 
storage,  for  it  loses  some  moisture,  and  there  is  also  some 
mechanical  loss  due  to  mice,  leakage,  etc.  Another  loss 
from  holding  is  the  loss  of  the  earning  power  of  the  money 
represented  by  the  value  of  the  wheat.  If  one  is  to  figure 
on  the  shrinkage  by  loss  of  moisture,  the  mechanical  loss, 
and  interest  on  the  money  tied  up  in  the  wheat,  he  will  lose 
more  times  by  holding  than  he  will  gain. 

183.  Grades.  In  accordance  with  the  United  State? 
Grain  Standards  Act,  the  market  grades  of  wheat  are  fixed  by 
the  Secretaiy  of  Agriculture.  The  grades  effective  July  15, 
1918,  divide  wheat  into  six  classes,  hard  red  spring,  durum, 
hard  red  winter,  soft  red  winter,  common  white,  and  white 
club.  The  hard  red  spring  class  is  divided  into  dark  north- 
ern spring,  northern  spring,  and  red  spring  subclasses;  the 
durum  class  into  amber  durum,  durum,  and  red  durum  sub- 


148  FIELD  CROPS 

classes;  the  hard  red  wmter  class  into  dark  hard,  hard,  and 
yellow  hard  winter  subclasses;  the  soft  red  winter  class  into 
red  winter  and  red  walla  subclasses;  and  the  common  white 
class  into  hard  white  and  soft  white  subclasses.  Each  of 
these  subclasses  is  then  divided  into  six  grades,  No.  1,  No.  2, 
No.  3,  No.  4,  No.  5,  and  Sample.  The  full  descriptions  of 
the  grades  in  one  class  will  be  sufficient  illustration  of  the 
differences  between  the  various  grades. 

Class  III.  Hard  Red  Winter,  shall  include  all  varieties  of  hard 
red  winter  wheat,  and  may  not  include  more  than  10  per  cent  of  other 
wheat  or  wheats.  This  class  shall  be  divided  into  three  subclasses  a? 
follows : 

Dark  Hard  Winter.  Tliis  subclass  shall  include  wheat  of  the 
class  Dark  Red  Winter  consisting  of  80  per  cent  or  more  of  dark,  hard, 
and  vitreous  kernels. 

Hard  Winter.  This  subclass  shall  include  wheat  of  the  clasp 
Hard  Red  Winter  consisting  of  less  than  80  per  cent  and  more  than 
25  per  cent  of  dark,  hard,  and  vitreous  kernels. 

Yellow  Hard  Winter.  This  subclass  shall  include  wheat  of  the 
class  Hard  Red  Winter  consisting  of  not  more  than  2.5  per  cent  of 
dark,  hard,  and  vitreous  kernels. 

No.  1  wheat  of  each  of  these  subclasses  (a)  shall  be  bright,  cool, 
and  sweet;  (b)  shall  have  a  test  weight  per  bushel  of  at  least  60  pounds; 
(c)  may  contain  not  more  than  13.5  per  cent  of  moisture;  (d)  may  con- 
tain not  more  than  1  per  cent  of  foreign  material  other  than  dockage, 
which  1  per  cent  may  include  not  more  than  one  half  per  cent  of  mat- 
ter other  than  cereal  grains;  (e)  may  contain  not  more  than  2  per 
cent  of  damaged  kernels,  which  may  include  not  more  than  one  tenth 
of  1  per  cent  of  heat  damaged  kernels;  and  (f)  maj^  contain  not  more 
than  5  per  cent  of  wheat  other  than  hard  red  winter,  which  5  per  cent 
may  include  not  more  than  2  per  cent  of  common  white,  white  club, 
and  durum  wheat,  either  singly  or  in  combination. 

The  lower  grades  of  dark  hard  winter,  hard  winter,  and 
yellow  hard  winter  wheat  differ  from  No.  1  just  described  in 
having  (1)  a  lower  bushel  weight,  (2)  a  higher  percentage  of 
moisture,  (3)  a  higher  percentage  of  foreign  material,  (4) 
and  a  higher  percentage  of  damaged  kernels.  The  minimum 
bushel  weights  for  the  five  grades  (Nos.  1,  2,  3,  4,  and  5) 
are  60,  58,  56,  54,  and  51  pounds,  respectively.     The  maxi- 


PRICES  AND  COiSl'  OF  WHEAT  149 

mum  percentages  of  moistm-e  allowed  are  13.5,  14,  lo,  15.5, 
and  15.5,  respectively.  The  percentages  of  foreign  material 
other  than  dockage  are  1,  2,  3,  5,  and  7,  of  which  H,  1,  2, 
3,  and  5  per  cent  may  be  matter  other  than  cereal  grains. 
Likewise,  the  allowable  percentages  of  damaged  kernels, 
heat  damaged  kernels,  and  of  other  wheats  increase  rela- 
tively through  the  different  grades.  Sample  wheat  of  any 
of  these  subclasses  is  wheat  that  does  not  come  within  the 
requirements  of  any  of  the  grades,  has  an  objectionable  for- 
eign odor,  is  sour  or  heating,  or  is  otherwise  of  low  quality. 

The  requirements  for  the  different  grades  in  other  sub- 
classes are  similar  to  those  just  given,  though  the  weights 
and  percentages  for  the  same  grade  (No.  1,  for  instance)  in 
the  various  classes  are  not  necessarily  the  same.  The  full 
descriptions  of  the  84  grades  occupy  21  pages  in  the  bulletin 
in  which  they  were  originally  published. i 
PRICES  AND  COST 

189.  Exports  and  Imports.  The  principal  countries  hav- 
ing a  surplus  of  wheat  for  export  are,  Russia,  Argentina,  Can- 
ada, the  United  States,  Roumania,  and  Australia.  The 
total  exports  of  wheat  flour  of  the  world  amounted  to  723,000,- 
000  bushels  annually  for  the  five  years  from  1909  to  1913, 
inclusive.  Of  this  amount,  Russia  exported  155,000,000 
bushels;  Argentina,  93,000,000  bushels;  Canada,  86,000,000 
bushels,  and  the  United  States,  84,000,000  bushels,  or  about 
one  eighth  of  the  annual  crop.  The  principal  importing 
countries  are  the  United  Kingdom,  Germany,  Belgium,  the 
Netherlands,  and  Italy.  The  United  Kingdom  imports 
209,000,000  bushels  annually,  or  about  two  sevenths  of  the 
total  imports  of  the  world. 

190.  Prices.  The  average  farm  price  of  wheat  on  Decem- 
ber 1  in  the  United  States  for  the  ten  years  from  1908  to 
1917  is  given  by  the  United  States  Department  of  Agriculture 

lOfficial  Grain  Standards  of  the  United  States  for  Wheat.     U.  S.  Dept.  Agr., 
Bureau  of  Markets  Service  and  Regulatory  Announcements  No.  33.     1918. 


150  FIELD  CHOPS 

as  $1.07  per  bushel.  The  price  varied  during  that  period 
from  76  cents  in  1912  to  S2.01  in  1917.  On  July  1,  1918, 
as  a  result  of  the  presidential  proclamation  and  increased 
freight  rates,  the  price  at  Minneapohs  was  S2.213^,  at 
Chicago,  S2.26,  and  at  New  York,  $2,393^.  The  farm  price  of 
wheat  varies  considerably^  in  different  sections  of  the  United 
States,  depending  upon  the  local  supply  and  demand  and 
the  distance  from  market.  In  the  North  Central  states 
west  of  the  Mississippi  River,  including  Minnesota,  Iowa, 
Missouri,  North  and  South  Dakota,  Nebraska  and  Kansas, 
the  10-year  average  farm  price  was  between  $1.01  and  $1.10 
per  bushel.  This  section  produces  about  one  half  of  the 
wheat  crop  of  the  United  States.  In  the  North  Atlantic 
states,  which  include  only  about  4  per  cent  of  the  wheat  acre- 
age of  the  United  States,  the  average  farm  price  for  the  same 
period  was  $1.17  per  bushel.  In  the  Far  Western  states, 
representing  about  10  per  cent  of  the  wheat  area  and  about 
13  per  cent  of  the  total  production  of  the  United  States,  the 
price  was  about  $1.01  per  bushel. 

191.  Cost  of  Production.  The  cost  of  producing  wheat 
naturally  varies  with  the  section  of  the  country,  the  rental 
value  of  the  land,  the  price  of  labor,  and  the  methods  em- 
ployed. From  reports  made  by  more  than  five  thousand  cor- 
respondents of  the  Bureau  of  Crop  Estimates  of  the  United 
States  Department  of  Agriculture,  tabulated  in  the  May, 
1911,  Crop  Reporter,  the  average  cost  of  producing  an  acre 
of  wheat  in  1909  in  the  United  States  was  $11.15.  Of  this 
total,  the  average  amount  expended  for  fertilizers  was  58 
cents;  preparation  of  the  land,  $2.11;  seed,  $1.42;  planting, 
46  cents;  harvesting,  $1.33;  preparing  for  market  (including 
threshing),  $1.48;  miscellaneous,  47  cents;  land  rental  or  in- 
terest on  land  value,  $3.30.  As  the  average  yield  in  that 
year  was  17.2  bushels,  the  cost  of  production  was  66  cents 
a  bushel.  The  average  value  of  wheat  was  96  cents  a  bushel, 
leaving  a  return  of  30  cents  a  bushel,  or  $5.33  an  acre.     While 


COST  OF  PRODUCINO  WHEAT 


161 


these  figures  are  merely  estimates  and  are  now  far  too  low, 
the  large  number  of  reports  which  are  included  make  them 
of  considerable  value.  A  presentation  of  the  acre  value,  acre 
cost,  and  value  less  cost  for  the  different  sections,  as  shown 
in  Table  VIII,  is  of  interest. 

Table  VIII.  Acre  value,  acre  cost,  and  value  less  cost  of  production 
of  wheat  in  various  sections  of  the  United  States  in  1909,  as 
reported  by  correspondents  of  the  Bureau  of  Crop  Estimates. 


Section 

Acre  value 

Acre  cost 

Value  less  • 
cost 

North  Atlantic 

Dollars 

21.18 
16.83 
14.05 
18.31 
14.96 
22.01 
16.48 

Dollars 

17.05 
13.10 
10.35 
13.41 
9.74 
12.69 
11.15 

Dollars 

4.13 

South  Atlantic 

3.73 

South  Central 

3.70 

East  North  Central 

4  90 

West  North  Central 

5.42 

Far  Western 

9.32 

United  States 

5  33 

From  Table  VIII,  it  will  be  seen  that  the  cost  of  pro- 
duction in  the  North  Atlantic  states  is  particularly  high. 
Everj'^  item  of  expense  is  larger  than  the  average  for  the  entire 
countrj^,  but  the  greatest  increase  is  in  fertilizers  and  cost  of 
preparation.  The  acre  value  is  also  high,  as  both  the  acre 
yield  and  the  price  per  bushel  are  above  the  average.  The 
largest  difference  between  value  and  cost  is  in  the  Far  Western 
states,  due  to  the  high  yield  and  the  moderate  cost  of  pro- 
duction. In  the  states  of  largest  production.  North  Dakota, 
Kansas,  and  Minnesota,  the  acre  cost  of  production  in  1909 
was  $8.99,  $10.29,  and  $10  respectively.  No  accurate  figures 
on  cost  of  production  have  been  published  recently,  but  like 
all  other  farm  operations  the  cost  of  wheat  production  has 
increased  enormouslj^  in  the  past  ten  years.  It  is  probable 
that  acre  costs  are  at  least  double  now  (1918)  what  they 
were  in  1909,  but  acre  values  have  also  increased  greatly,  so 
that  the  profit  from  producing  wheat  is  greater  than  it  was 
ten  years  earlier. 


152  FIELD  CHOPS 

According  to  recently  published  figures/  the  average 
cost  of  cutting  an  acre  of  wheat  with  the  binder  varies  from 
88  cents  to  SI.  17,  according  to  the  width  of  cut  of  the  binder 
used,  the  lower  cost  being  for  the  8-foot  cut  and  the  higher 
for  the  6-foot.  The  average  cost  of  cutting  with  the  binder 
is  $1.02,  and  of  shocking,  21  cents  per  acre,  making  a  total 
of  $1.23  for  hai*vesting  and  shocking.  To  this  must  be 
added  the  cost  of  stacking,  about  $1.00  to  the  acre.  The 
cost  of  heading  and  stacking,  in  sections  where  the  header 
can  be  used,  ranges  from  $1.06  to  $1..38,  according  to  the 
size  of  the  outfit  used.  The  total  cost  of  cutting  and  thresh- 
ing wheat  with  the  combined  harvester  and  thresher  ranges 
with  outfits  of  various  sizes  from  about  $1.50  to  $2.25  per 
acre.  As  the  cost  of  threshing  must  be  added  to  the  har- 
vesting costs  given  above  for  the  binder  and  the  header,  it 
can  readity  be  seen  that  the  combine  is  the  most  economical 
machine  for  harvesting  wheat,  but  its  use  is  of  course  limited 
by  climatic  conditions  to  a  comparatively  small  part  of  the 
wheat  acreage. 

RELATION  TO  OTHER  CROPS 

192.  Place  in  the  Rotation.  Wheat  is  one  of  the  best 
crops  to  use  as  a  nurse  crop  for  grasses  and  clover,  because 
it  is  sown  early,  at  the  tmie  when  grass  seed  starts  best, 
and  because  it  does  not  shade  the  ground  so  much  as  oats 
or  barley.  On  this  account,  wheat  commonly  follows  corn 
and  precedes  a  hay  crop.  In  the  main  wheat-producing 
sections,  it  is  veiy  commonly  grown  year  after  year  on  the 
same  land,  without  fertilization.  Occasionally  such  land  is 
left  without  a  crop  for  one  year  and  summer  fallowed: 
that  is,  it  is  plowed  once  or  twice,  usuallj^  about  midsummer. 
This  is  a  wasteful  practice,  unless  it  is  followed  for  the  purpose 
of  conserving  moisture.  Otherwise,  it  is  usually  discontinued 
as  a  country  develops  and  some  system  of  crop  rotation  is 
introduced. 

iDept.  of  Agr.   Bui.   G27,  Cost  of  harvesting  wheat  by  different  methods. 


USES  OF  WHEAT  153 

A  very  simple  rotation  is:  First  year,  corn;  second  year, 
wheat;  third  year,  clover.  Such  a  rotation  is  adapted  to  light 
soils  or  to  building  up  run-down  soils.  This  is  especially 
true  if  the  corn  and  grass  crops  are  fed  to  stock  and  the 
manure  returned  to  the  soil.  Another  common  rotation  is 
one  covering  five  years:  First  year,  wheat;  second  year, 
hay;  third  year,  pasture;  fourth  year,  corn;  fifth  j^ear,  oats. 
Such  a  rotation  is  suitable  where  all  the  land  is  tillable,  where 
the  grass  crops  may  be  grown,  and  where  diversified  farming 
is  practiced.  In  the  Southwest,  where  difficulty  is  experi- 
enced in  getting  grass  started  and  where  alfalfa  is  the  main 
hay  crop,  the  following  rotation  is  often  followed :  First  year, 
corn;  second  year,  wheat;  third  year,  oats.  To  add  a  vege- 
table matter  to  the  soil,  cowpeas  or  soy  beans  are  seeded  as 
soon  as  the  grain  crops  are  removed,  and  plowed  under  later 
in  the  fall.  In  the  South,  a  common  rotation  is:  First  year, 
corn  and  cowpeas;  second  year,  wheat  and  cowpeas;  third 
year,  cotton.  In  the  tobacco  sections  of  the  South,  a  rotation 
often  followed  is:  First  year,  tobacco;  second  year,  wheat; 
third  year,  clover. 

193.  Wheat  as  a  Nurse  Crop.  In  sowing  grass  seed  with 
wheat,  it  is  quite  often  mixed  with  the  seed  grain  and  sown, 
and  in  other  cases  it  is  sown  with  a  grass  seed  attachment  on 
the  drill  or  seeder.  Timothy  seed  may  be  sown  with  winter 
wheat  in  the  fall  when  the  wheat  is  seeded,  but  as  a  rule  it  is 
much  safer  to  sow  clover  seed  in  the  spring  than  in  the  fall. 
Grass  seed  may  be  seeded  in  the  spring  on  winter  wheat 
land,  and  the  land  harrowed  to  cover  it,  without  detriment 
to  the  crop. 

USES  OF  WHEAT 

194.  As  Human  Food.  The  chief  use  of  wheat  the  world 
over  is  for  flour  to  be  used  as  human  food.  It  contains  more 
gluten  than  other  grams,  which,  on  account  of  its  elastic 
dough,  makes  it  preferable  for  bread  making.    There  are 


154 


FIELD  CROPS 


numerous  grades  of  flour,  but  only  three  general  kinds; 
namely,  white  flour,  graham  flour,  and  whole-wheat  flour. 
White  flour  is  by  far  the  most  generally  used.  Graham  flour 
differs  from  whole-wheat  flour  only  in  that  it  is  the  whole 
wheat  ground  and  unbolted, while  the  coarser  part  of  thebran 
is  removed  from  the  whole-wheat  flour.  Contrary  to  general 
belief,  white  flour  makes  more  digestible  bread  than  either 
the  graham  or  whole-wheat  flour.  Durum,  or  macaroni, 
wheat  is  manufactured  into  flour  (semolina)  for  the  manu- 
facture of  macaroni  and  other  similar  products.  Bread  from 
it  is  very  palatable,  but  not  quite  so  light  or  white  as  from 
ordinary  white  flour.  Shredded  whole  wheat  and  cream-of- 
wheat  are  breakfast  foods  made  from  wheat.  Whole  wheat 
is  sometimes  cooked  thoroughly  and  eaten  as  a  breakfast 
food. 

195.  As  Feed  for  Live  Stock.  Wheat  is  usually  too 
valuable  to  feed  to  stock.  Some  of  the  poorer  grades  and 
wheat  screenings  are  often  fed,  however,  and  occasional^ 
the  prices  of  live  stock  and  of  wheat  are  such  that  good 
wheat  may  be  fed  profitably.  The  by-products  in  the 
manufacture  of  flour, — namely  bran,  shorts,  middlings, 
and  often  the  poorer  grades  of  flour  commonly  called  red- 
dog, — are  very  common  and  valuable  feeds  for  Hve  stock. 
Table  X  shows  the  general  composition  of  some  of  these  by- 
products as  compared  with  corn. 

Table  I X.     Digestible  nutrients  in  pounds  to  the  hundred  pounds  of 
dry  matter  of  wheat  and  the  by-products  from  flour  mills,  compared  , 
with  corn. 


Feed 

Protein 

Carbohy- 
drates 

Fat 

Corn     ...                      

Pounds 
7.8 

8.8 
11.9 
13.0 
16.9 
16.2 

Pounds 

66.8 
67.5 
42.0 
45.7 
53.6 
57.0 

Pounds 

4.3 

Wheat                              

1.5 

Bran 

Shorts 

2.5 
4.5 

Middlings 

4.1 

Red-dog  flour                      

3.4 

DISEASES  155 

It  will  be  observed  that  wheat  and  all  the  mill  by-products 
are  richer  in  protein  than  corn,  while  corn  is  richer  in  carbo- 
hydrates than  any  of  the  wheat  products. 

DISEASES  AND  INSECT  ENEMIES 

196.  Diseases.  It  is  very  seldom  that  a  crop  of  wheat 
is  matured  without  being  affected  to  some  extent  by  some  of 
the  common  diseases  to  which  the  crop  is  subject,  as  scab, 
rust,  and  smut.  There  are  other  diseases,  but  so  little  is 
known  about  them  that  only  the  three  named  will  be  dis- 
cussed here.  Disease  causes  an  immense  loss  to  wheat  and 
other  cereal  crops  every  year,  whereas  considerable  might  be 
done  to  check  this  loss. 

(a).  Scab.  Scab  is  a  fungous  disease  which  attacks  the 
glumes,  or  chaff,  of  the  wheat  plant.  It  is  not  very  common, 
but  sometimes  causes  much  loss,  for  shrunken  kernels  result 
when  the  wheat  plants  are  affected.  Usually  only  a  few 
glumes  are  affected,  and  these  are  identified  by  pinkish  spots 
at  the  base.  There  is  no  known  treatment  for  this  disease, 
except  that  the  stubble  be  burned,  if  wheat  is  to  follow  a 
crop  of  wheat  affected  with  scab. 

(^).  Rust.  Rust  occasionally  causes  immense  damage 
to  the  wheat  crop,  sometimes  ruining  the  entire  crop  of  a 
great  part  of  the  country.  It  is  a  fungous  disease  which  is 
almost  always  present  to  some  extent,  and  which,  when 
conditions  are  favorable,  may  spread  rapidly  and  cause  the 
straw  to  become  very  weak,  resulting  in  shrunken  kernels. 
There  are  two  kinds,  the  leaf  rust  and  the  stem  rust.  The 
former  is  nearly  always  present,  but  the  latter  is  by  far  the 
more  destructive.  Stem  rust  may  hve  over  winter  on  the 
ripened  plant,  or  more  commonly  in  another  form  on  some 
other  plant.  The  spores  may  germinate  and  attack  the 
wheat  at  any  stage  during  its  growth.  No  remedy  is  known 
except  the  selection  of  varieties  of  wheat  which  are  rust 
resistant,  though  attempts  in  this  direction  have  not  as  yet 


156  FIELD  CROPS 

met  with  veiy  promising  results.  Other  helpful  measures  are 
drainage,  the  use  of  early  maturing  varieties,  and  the  erad- 
ication of  weeds. 

A  helpful  method  of  prevention  of  black  stem  rust  is  the 
eradication  of  the  common  barberry,  which  is  cultivated  for 

ornamental  purposes  and 
which  acts  as  a  host  by  har- 
boring the  spring  spores  of 
this  disease.  It  is  estima- 
ted that  in  the  three  spring 
wheat  states  alone  the  loss 
from  black  rust  amounted 
in  1916  to  nearly  $180,000, 
000.  A  single  plant  or  hedge 
in  a  city  may  give  off  spores 

Figure  61. — Common  barberry  on  the  loft,    j.i,„4.    „,:n    j.„„„„i    u_.    , 

and  Japanese  on  the  right.  that    Will    travel    Dy    mOaUS 

of  grasses  to  fields  at  a  dis- 
tance. The  common  barberry,  however,  should  be  distin- 
guished from  the  Japanese  variety  which  does  not  harbor 
or  propagate  the  disease.  The  common  barberry  is  an  up- 
right shrub,  4  to  8  feet  high,  with  grey  bark,  branched  thorns, 
leaves  with  spiny  margins,  and  berries,  borne  in*  clusters  hke 
currants.  The  Japanese  is  a  low,  spreading  shrub,  2  to  4 
feet  high,  with  reddish  brown  bark,  single  thorns,  smaller 
leaves  with  smooth  edges,  and  with  only  one  to  three  ber- 
ries in  a  place.  A  concerted  campaign  is  being  carried  on 
from  Washington  and  by  several  states  and  public  safety 
commissions  that  is  destined  to  remove  the  plant  entirely 
and  prevent  the  great  economic  losses  caused  by  it. 

(c).  Smut.  Smut  is  a  fungous  disease  which  attacks 
the  wheat  crop  and  causes  very  heavy  loss.  The  smut  plant 
grows  within  the  wheat  plant  and  produces  masses  of  spores 
in  the  head  where  the  kernels  of  grain  should  be  produced. 
The  whole  head  is  generally  attacked,  and  usually  all  the 
heads  of  a  plant,  which  latter  fact  is  a  strong  indication  that 


DISEASES  OF  WHEAT 


157 


the  infection  comes  from  the  seed,  or  enters  the  plant  at  a  very 
early  stage  in  its  growth.  There  are  two  kinds  of  smut 
that  attack  wheat,  the  loose  smut,  which  destroys  the  entire 
glume  and  kernel,  leaving  the  rachis  naked,  and  the  stinking 


I'ij-Mirt^    (32. — ytiukiug  smut  of  wheat.      Notice  ia  the  open  grains  how  the  smut 
spores  have  deotroyed  the  whole  interior. 


smut,  which  simply  produces  within  the  apparently  healthy 
glumes  a  smut  ball  in  place  of  a  kernel  of  wheat.  Both  these 
smuts  are  veiy  destructive. 

Stinking  smut  is  controlled  by  treating  the  seed  before 
sowing.  The  most  simple  and  practical  method  is  to  moisten 
the  wheat  with  a  solution  made  by  mixing  1  pint  of  40  per 
cent  formaldehyde  with  45  gallons  of  water.  Wheat  may 
be  dipped  in  the  solution  in  baskets  or  loosely  woven  sacks. 
It  may  be  run  through  the  solution  bj^  means  of  a  smut 
machine,  or  the  solution  may  be  sprinkled  over  the  seed  by 
means  of  a  sprinkling  can,  the  wheat  being  shoveled  over 


158  .  FIELD  CROPS 

several  times  during  the  process  to  insure  the  thorough 
moistening  of  each  kernel.  The  smut  spores  are  on  the  out- 
side of  the  kernels,  and  all  that  is  required  is  to  bring  the 
solution  in  contact  with  them.  Loose  smut  is  very  difficult 
to  handle,  as  the  spores  get  into  the  open  flowers  and  become 
enclosed  within  the  wheat  kernel.  The  only  treatment  that 
is  effective  is  the  modified  hot  water  treatment,  which  is  ex- 
tremely difficult  to  apply.  The  wheat  is  soaked  for  four 
hours  in  cool  water,  because  heat  will  pass  through  the  kernel 
more  quickly  when  it  is  wet.  It  is  then  soaked  for  ten  min- 
utes in  water  at  129  degrees  Fahrenheit.  It  is  not  advisable, 
without  a  great  deal  of  experience,  to  treat  much  seed  in  this 
way,  as  the  germination  of  the  grain  is  likely  to  be  lowered  or 
destroyed.  Treat  only  enough  for  a  seed  plat,  and  get  clean 
seed  for  the  main  part  of  the  crop  in  this  way. 

197.  Insect  Enemies.  There  are  several  insects  which 
occasionally  cause  great  damage  to  the  wheat  crop.  Only 
the  more  important  will  be  discussed.  These  include  the 
Hessian  fly,  chinch  bug,  grasshopper,  and  army  worm. 

(a).  The  Hessian  fly  resembles  the  mosquito  quite  closely. 
It  lays  its  eggs  in  the  growing  wheat.  When  the  maggots 
hatch,  they  work  in  the  lower  part  of  the  stem,  weakening  it 
and  causing  the  head  to  fall  over  so  that  it  is  missed  by  the 
binder.  Fall  plowing,  rotation,  and  burning  straw,  stubble, 
screenings,  and  Utter  are  all  effective  methods  of  checking 
the  loss  from  this  insect. 

(5).  Chinch  bugs  often  destroy  much  wheat  by  sucking  the 
sap  from  the  plants.  They  are  blackish  in  color,  with  white 
wing  covers,  and  are  about  one  fifth  of  an  inch  long.  They 
live  over  winter  in  the  matm^e  form,  under  rubbish  and  leaves. 
In  the  spring  the  females  lay  their  eggs;  a  little  later,  the 
young  appear  as  very  small,  reddish  bugs.  The  hatching 
period  extends  over  several  weeks,  and  so  bugs  of  all  sizes 
may  be  seen  at  one  time.  There  are  no  effective  remedies 
against  these  bugs  in  wheat,  except  to  bum  or  othe^v^'ise  dis- 


METHODS  OF  IMPROVEMENT  159 

pose  of  all  rubbish  in  the  fall,  so  that  the  bugs  will  have  fewer 
places  in  which  they  may  be  able  to  hibernate. 

(c.)  Grasshoppers  when  abundant,  often  do  great  damage 
to  wheat.  The  eggs  are  laid  in  the  ground  during  midsum- 
mer, and  hatch  the  following  spring.  The  young  hoppers 
have  no  wings;  hence  the}^  do  not  travel  about  much.  'When 
full  grown  they  acquire  wings  and  fly  readily.  The  eggs 
are  usually  laid  in  pastures,  meadows,  and  in  waste  land. 
Late  fall  plowing  and  rotation  of  crops  are  effective  in  con- 
trolling the  hoppers,  for  many  of  the  eggs  are  destroyed  and 
others  are  buried  so  deep  as  to  prevent  the  young  hoppers 
from  getting  to  the  surface  when  hatched.  The  young  hop- 
pers are  often  destroyed  in  large  numbers,  by  use  of  hopper- 
dozers,  or  by  poisoning  with  arsenite  of  soda. 

((/.)  Army  worms  sometimes  injure  the  growing  crop, 
while  grain  weevils  are  destructive  to  the  stored  grain,  es- 
pecially in  the  South.  These  insects  and  the  remedies  for 
them  have  already  been  discussed  (Section  146). 

METHODS  OF  IMPROVEMENT 

198.  Wheat  Will  Not  Mix.  Wheat,  being  close-fertilized, 
is  one  of  the  comparatively  easy  crops  to  improve,  because 
selected  plants  do  not  become  mixed  with  undesirable  ones, 
as  is  the  case  with  corn.  It  is  probable  that  occasionally 
some  cross-fertilization  occurs,  but  it  is  so  seldom  as  to  be 
unimportant.  If  several  varieties  of  wheat  are  grown  in 
one  plat,  any  one  plant  will  produce  pure  seed  regardless  of 
the  plants  surrounding  it.  This  fact  enables  one  to  use 
large  numbers  of  individual  plants  in  improvement  work. 

199.  Breeding  by  Selection.  The  most  common  method 
of  improving  wheat  is  by  selection.  A  large  number  of 
wheat  plants  grown  under  perfectly  uniform  conditions  will 
vary  greatly  in  yield  and  in  other  respects.  Advantage 
should  be  taken  of  this  fact  in  breeding  by  eliminating  all 
the  poorer  plants,  and  reproducing  only  those  capable  of 


160  FIELD  CROPS 

giving  the  best  returns.  A  very  common  method  is  to  grow- 
on  uniform  land  from  one  thousand  to  several  thousand 
plants  of  the  variety  of  wheat  to  be  improved.  At  harvest 
time,  twenty-five  or  fifty  of  the  highest-yielding  plants  are 
saved,  and  the  seed  from  each  plant  kept  in  a  separate 
package.  With  the  seed  from  each  of  these  selected  plants, 
separate  plats  are  planted  to  test  their  ability  to  continue  to 
give  large  yields.  This  comparative  test  is  continued  for 
at  least  three  years;  the  plant  giving  the  highest  average 
yield  for  three  years  in  the  small  plat  is  increased  as  rapidly 
as  possible,  to  furnish  seed  for  the  main  crop. 

200.  Crossing.  As  wheat  plants  are  close-fertilized, 
crossing  artificially  is  often  practiced.  To  do  this,  the 
unopened  anthers  are  removed  from  the  florets  and  the  head 
is  covered  for  a  couple  of  days  until  the  stigmas  are  ready 
to  be  fertilized.  Ripe  pollen  is  then  taken  from  another  head 
and  dusted  on  the  stigmas  of  the  head  from  which  the  anthers 
are  removed.  The  head  is  again  covered  to  prevent  any 
other  pollen  from  reaching  it.  On  account  of  the  fact  that 
wheat  is  not  naturally  cross-polhnated,  crossing  in  this  way 
causes  a  great  variation  in  the  resulting  plants.  The  crossing 
of  two  varieties  of  wheat  may  bring  forth  plants  similar  to 
either  parent  and  many  variations  from  either  of  the  original 
types,  as  for  example,  bearded  wheats  may  result  from  a 
cross  between  beardless  varieties.  The  object  of  crossing 
is  sometimes  to  unite  desirable  characters  in  two  varieties, 
and  sometimes  to  cause  a  greater  variation  than  is  common, 
with  a  view  to  having  greater  opportunity  for  selection.  It 
takes  several  generations  to  fix  the  character  of  a  w^heat  plant 
produced  by  crossing.  A  few  desirable  varieties  of  wheat 
have  been  produced  in  this  way,  but  by  far  the  greater  num- 
ber are  the  result  of  straight  selection. 

201.  Judging  Wheat.  For  the  purpose  of  judging  seed 
wheat,  the  agricultural  colleges  have  devised  score  cards 
2;iving  varying  values  to   the    important   points   desired. 


SCORE  CARD  FOR  WHEAT 


161 


While  these  colleges  do  not  all  agree  as  to  the  relative  impor- 
tance of  each  point,  they  do  agree  quite  uniformly  on  the 
important  points.  Any  of  these  cards  will  serve  the  purpose 
of  calling  attention  to  the  important  points  that  must  be 
considered  in  judging. 

SCORE  CARD  FOR  SEED  WHEAT 


SALIENT  POINTS 

INTRINSIC  P0INT3 

Standard  Score 

YIELD 
30  Points 

Weight  per  bushel 

Uniformity 

25 
5 

VARIETY 

CHARACTERS 

15  Points 

Color 

Purity 

Kernel  Shape 

3 
10 

2 

VITALITY 
30  Points 

Luster 

Plumpness 

Germ 

Odor 

5 
15 
3 

Weed  seed  . 

10 

MARKET 

3 

CONDITION 

Injured  kernels 

2 

25  Points 

Smut,  etc 

5 
5 

100  Points 

Total 

100 

LABORATORY  AND  FIELD  EXERCISES 

1.  Obtain  samples  of  as  many  kinds  of  wheat  as  possible,  and  learn 
to  identify  them.  Note  differences  in  weight,  size  and  shape  of  kernel, 
hardness  of  kernel,  and  color. 

2.  Obtain  samples  of  wheat  from  several  farms;  compare  weight, 
color,  percentage  of  weed  seeds,  percentage  of  dirt,  purity  of  sample 
(that  is,  is  it  one  pure  variety  or  a  mixture?),  size  and  variation  of 
kernels,  presence  or  absence  of  smut. 

3.  Obtain  an  average  sample  of  wheat;  weigh  out  carefully  one  or 
two  ounces;  count  the  kernels,  then  determine  the  number  in  one 
pound,  in  on3  bushel.  Find  how  many  kernels  per  square  foot  there 
would  be  if  1}4  bushels  were  sown  evenly  on  an  acre  of  land.  If  possi- 
ble, count  the  number  of  plants  found  growing  on  one  square  foot  in 
a  good  field  of  wheat.     How  do  you  account  for  the  difference? 

4.  Visit  several  fields  of  grain  just  as  they  are  heading  out.  Find 
a  head  of  wheat  that  is  smutted;  pull  up  the  plant  on  which  the  smutted 
head  is  growing,  and  carefully  examine  all  the  heads  on  the  plant, 
even  if  you  must  split  the  stem  open  to  find  some  of  the  heads  that 
have  not  yet  appeared.  Examine  several  smutted  plants  in  this  way. 
Are  all  the  heads  of  a  plant  usually  smutted,  or  are  only  part  of  them? 


162  FIELD  CROPS 

Does  not  this  indicate  that  the  infection  came  from  tlie  seed  instead  of 
spreading  in  the  field? 

5.  Obtain  two  small  samnles  of  wheat.  Sprinkle  one  with  water, 
just  as  you  would  do  if  treating  for  stinking  smut  as  suggested  in  this 
chapter.  After  treating  the  sample,  allow  it  to  stand  for  from  ten  to 
fifteen  hours.  Then  plant  several  kernels  from  both  the  treated  and 
untreated  samples  in  a  box  of  sand.  Slightly  moisten  the  sand  as  you 
ordinarily  would  if  you  wished  the  wheat  to  germinate;  keep  the  box 
in  a  suitable  place  for  wheat  to  germinate.  Note  the  difference  in 
germination  between  the  treated  and  untreated  seed. 

6.  Get  a  sample  of  wheat  affected  with  stinking  smut.  Learn 
to  identify  the  smut  balls.  Does  the  sample  show  indications  of  being 
smutted  either  by  looks  or  by  smell? 

7.  Go  into  a  field  at  harvest  time  or  early  in  the  fall;  dig  up  some 
wheat  stubble,  also  some  stubble  from  a  timothy  and  clover  meadow. 
Compare  the  amount  and  character  of  the  roots  of  the  three  kinds  of 
plants.     Which  crop  will  leave  the  most  vegetable  matter  in  the  soil? 

8.  Some  time  between  January  1st  and  planting  time,  obtain 
samples  of  wheat  from  a  niunber  of  farms.  Plant  100  kernels  from 
each  sample  in  plate  germinators.  Compare  the  strength  and  per- 
centage of  germination. 

REFERENCES 

Cyclopedia  of  American  Agi-iculture,  Vol.  II,  Bailey. 

The  Small  Grains,  Carleton, 

The  Book  of  Wheat,  DondUnger. 

Productive  Farm  Crops,  Montgomery. 

Field  Crop  Production,  Livingston. 

Cereals  in  America,  Hunt. 

Farmers'  Bulletins: 

466.  Winter  Emmer. 

534.  Durum  Wheat. 

596.  The  Culture  of  Winter  Whesii  in  the  Eastern  United  States. 

616.  Winter  Wheat  Varieties  for  the  Eastern  United  States. 

678.  Growing  Hard  Spring  ^Vheat. 

680.  Varieties  of  Hard  Spring  Wlieat. 

732.   Marquis  Wheat. 

835.  How  to  Detect  Outbreaks  of  Insects  and  Save  Grain  Crops. 

863.  Irrigation  of  Grain. 

885.  Wheat  Growing  in  the  Southeastern  States. 

895.   Growing  Winter  Wheat  in  the  Great  Plains. 

938.  Cereal  Smuts  and  the  Disinfection  of  Grain. 


CHAPTER  V 
OATS 

HISTORY  AND  DESCRIPTION. 

202.  Origin  and  History.  The  oat  belongs  to  the  genus 
Avena,  one  of  the  numerous  subdivisions  of  the  great  family 
of  grasses,  the  Gramineae.  As  nearly  as  can  be  determined, 
this  plant  is  a  native  of  central  or  western  Asia  and  eastern 
Europe,  probably  within  what  is  now  Russia.  No  mention 
is  made  of  oats  in  the  earlier  writings  which  have  been  pre- 
served, and  there  is  no  evidence  that  this  grain  was  culti- 
vated until  a  much  later  period  than  wheat  and  barley, 
though  it  was  known  among  the  Greeks  and  Romans.  It 
is  not  strange  that  the  ancient  peoples,  with  their  crude 
methods  of  grinding  and  preparing  grains  for  use  as  food,  first 
cultivated  wheat,  which  threshes  free  from  the  hull,  and  bar- 
ley, with  a  hull  much  thinner  than  that  of  oats.  Oats  prob- 
ably were  not  grown  till  the  need  for  feed  grain  for  domestic 
animals  became  a  pressing  one,  and  were  then  used  for  human 
food  only  when  other  grain  crops  failed.  Their  hardiness 
and  quick  maturity  brought  them  into  favor  in  some  of  the 
northern  countries,  where  they  have  long  been  used  as  food 
for  man  as  well  as  for  live  stock.  The  early  colonists  intro- 
duced oats  into  America,  and  their  cultivation  soon  became 
common,  particularly  in  the  more  northerly  sections. 

Practically  all  the  cultivated  varieties  of  oats  have  been 
developed  from  the  form  known  as  Avena  saliva,  though  a 
feW;  such  as  the  Red  Rustproof  of  the  Southern  states, 
have  probably  been  derived  from  Avena  sterilis  or  some 
other  wild  form  native  to  southern  Europe  or  northern 
Africa.     Several  species  of  Avena  are  now  found  wild  in 

103 


164  FIELD  CROtii 

various  parts  of  the  world,  and  one,  the  common  wild  oa- , 
Avena  fatua,  is  a  serious  weed  pest  in  grain  fields  in  the 
northern  United  States  and  in  Canada.  None  of  the  closely 
related  genera  or  species  is  generally  cultivated,  though  vel- 
vet grass  {Holcus)  and  tall  oat  grass  (Arrhenatherum)  are 
occasionally  sown  with  other  grasses  for  meadow  and  pasture 
purposes. 

203.  Botanical  Characters.  The  oat  is  an  annual  plant 
with  hollow,  jointed  stems  and  fibrous  roots.  The  culms 
are  from  2  to  5  feet  in  height,  the  average  being  about  3J^ 
feet.  The  number  of  culms  produced  from  a  single  seed  is 
usually  from  three  to  seven,  though  the  height  of  the  plant 
and  the  number  of  culms  depend  very  largely  on  the  richness 
of  the  soil,  the  thickness  of  planting,  and  the  season.  The 
leaves  are  numerous,  lanceolate,  6  to  12  inches  long  and  3^ 
to  13^2  inches  wide.  The  base  of  the  leaf,  or  sheath,  clasps 
the  culm  for  practically  the  entire  length  of  the  internode. 

The  flowers  are  borne  in  panicles,  which  are  more  or 
less  spreading  according  to  the  variety.  The  panicle  con- 
sists of  a  central  stem,  or  rachis,  with  from  three  to  five 
whorls  of  several  small  branches  each  arranged  at  intervals 
along  it.  It  is  usually  from  9  to  12  inches  long,  and  bears 
from  forty  to  seventy-five  spikelets.  Each  spikelet  consists 
of  two  or  more  flowers,  of  which  usually  but  two  are  fertile. 
In  some  varieties,  only  one  grain  reaches  full  size,  though 
usually  two  grains  develop,  the  second  being  smaller  than  the 
first.  Occasionally  the  third  flower  in  the  spikelet  produces 
a  grain,  but  this  is  usually  too  small  to  be  of  value.  The 
flowers  are  enclosed  in  two  thin  outer  glumes  (the  chaff), 
while  the  reproductive  organs  of  each  flower  are  enclosed  in 
the  flowering  glume  and  palea,  which  later  form  the  hull. 
The  organs  of  reproduction  consist  of  three  stamens  with 
thread-like  filaments,  tipped  with  large  anthers,  and  a  pistil 
with  two  feathery  stigmas.  The  flowers  open  for  only  a 
few    hours;  fertilization  generally  takes  place  before  they 


CLASSIFICATION  OF  OATS 


165 


open.     The  oat  is  normally  close-fertilized,  though  cross- 
fertilization  may  possibly  occur. 

The  seed  varies  in  size,  color,  and  shape  according  to  the 
variety,  but  is  usually  two  or  three  times  as  long  as  broad, 
tapering  from  a 
little  above  the 
base  to  the  tip, 
and  is  furrowed 
on  the  inner  side. 
The  flowering 
glume  is  often 
provided  with  a 
short,  usually 
twisted  awn, 
which  is  attached 
to  the  back  of  the 
glume.  This  may 
fall  off  when  the 
grain  ripens  or  be 
broken  off  in 
threshing,  or  it 
may  adhere  to  the 
threshed  grain. 
In  the  form  known 
as  hull-less  oats  rarely  grown  in  this  country  except  as  a 
curiosity,  the  grain  S3parates  readily  from  the  flowering 
gl  jme,  and  threshes  out  clean  like  wheat. 

The  weight  of  the  grain  in  ordinary  oats  is  one  third  to 
one  half  the  weight  of  the  entire  crop,  and  about  two  thirds 
of  the  weight  of  the  grain  is  kernel  and  one  third  hull.  Some 
samples  run  as  high  as  75  per  cent  of  the  kernel,  while  others 
do  not  exceed  60  per  cent. 

204.  Classification  of  Varieties.  The  varieties  of  hulled, 
or  common,  oats  may  be  divided  into  two  classes,  according 
to  the  arrangement  of  the  branches  on  the  rachis,  (the  central 


Figure  63. — Oat  spikelets  in  blossom 


160 


FIELD  VlWPki 


stem  of  the  panicle).  If  these  are  all  about  the  same  length 
and  turned  to  one  side,  the  variety  belongs  to  the  class  of 
side,  or  ''horse-mane,"  oats;  if  the  branches  are  of  different 
lengths  and  stand  out  at  different  angles  from  the  rachis, 

they  are  of  the 
spreading,  or 
"spr  angled," 
type.  The  latter 
is  much  more 
common,  where- 
as side  oats  in- 
clude only  a  few 
varieties,  grown 
generally  in  the 
more  northerly 
sections.  As  with 
wheat,  there  are 
winter  and 
spring  oats,  ac- 
cording to  their 
adaptability  to 
fall  seeding. 
Winter  oats  are 
much  less  hardy 
than  winter 
wheat,  and  are 
seldom  grown  in 
this  country  ex- 
cept in  the  South- 
ern and  Pacific 
states.  Oats  may  be  divided  according  to  the  color  of  the 
hull  into  white,  yellow,  black  (gray  or  grayish-black)  and 
red  (reddish-brown)  varieties.  The  oats  commonly  grown 
in  the  North  are  white,  though  black  and  yellow  varieties  are 
sometimes  sown ;  those  grown  in  the  South  are  red  or  gray  in 


Figure  61. — The  two  types  of  panicles  in  oats;  spreading 
at  the  left;  side,  or  "horse-mane,"  at  the  right. 


VARIETIES  OF  OATS 


167 


color.  Another  division  may  be  based  on  the  time  of  ripening, 
as  early,  midseason,  and  late;  and  still  others  on  the  size  and 
the  shape  of  the  grain.  Early  oats  ripen  in  90  to  100  days 
from  sowing,  and  late  oats  in  from  115  to  130  days. 

205.  Leading  Varieties.     The  differences  in  time  of  ripen- 
ing, shape  of  grain,  and  other  characteristics  are  so  slight  as 


II  A^ 

'4 

/ 

(i 

•(                    f( 

11^     I 

I 

Figure  65. —  Four  varieties  of  oats  differing  in  size,  shnpe,  and  color.  On  the 
left,  an  early  yellow  cat  with  small,  slender  grains,  Pixty  Day;  next,  a  plump, 
large-grained,  reddish-brown  variety.  Red  RiistDroof:  then  a  small,  black 
oat,  North  Finnish  Black;  on  the  right,  a  medium  late,  large,  white  variety, 
Swedish  Select. 


to  make  the  classification  and  identific?.tion  of  varieties  ex- 
tremely difficult.  New  varieties  are  introduced  each  year 
by  enterprising  seedsmen,  and  old  ones  are  sent  out  under 
new  names,  thus  adding  to  the  confusion.  A  few  of  the  more 
prominent  varieties  of  white  oats  grown  in  the  Northern 
states  are  Big  Four,  Silvermine,  Clydesdale,  Swedish  Select, 
and  American  Banner.  Wliite  Russian  and  Tartarian  are 
the  most  common  varieties  of  the  side-oat  type.  Farther 
south,  particuh.rly  through  Nebraska,  Iowa,  and  IlHnois, 
a  small  early  yellow  oat  from  southern  Russia  known  as  the 


168  FIELD  CROPS! 

Sixty  Day,  or  Kherson,  is  coming  rapidly  into  favor,  though 
Silvermine  and  some  of  the  later  white  oats  are  popular  in 
some  sections  in  these  states  as  well  as  in  those  farther  east 
and  north.  In  the  South  the  most  common  varieties  are  Red 
Rustproof  and  Winter  Turf.  The  former  may  be  sown 
either  in  the  fall  or  in  the  spring,  while  the  latter  is  sown 
only  in  the  fall. 

IMPORTANCE  OF  THE  CROP 

206.  World  Production.  Oats  grow  best  in  a  cool,  rather 
moist  climate,  and  are  most  largely  produced  in  the  North 
Temperate  zone.  Among  the  leading  countries  in  the  pro- 
duction of  this  crop  are  the  United  States,  European  Russia, 
Germany,  France,  Canada,  Austria-Hungary,  and  the  United 
Kingdom.  Such  northern  countries  as  Sweden  and  Norwaj^ 
also  produce  large  quantities  of  oats,  but  they  are  not  im- 
portant factors  in  the  w^orld  production  on  account  of  their 
comparatively^  small  area.  According  to  the  figures  of  the 
Bureau  of  Crop  Estimates  of  the  United  States  Department 
of  Agriculture,  the  world  production  of  oats  is  about  4,500,- 
000,000  bushels  annually,  or  about  500,000,000  bushels  more 
than  that  of  corn  or  wheat.  On  account  of  the  much 
greater  weight  of  a  bushel  of  either  of  the  other  grains, 
the  total  weight  of  those  crops  is  considerably  more  than  that 
of  oats,  and  the  value  is  also  much  greater. 

In  the  five  years  from  1910  to  1914,  the  average  annual 
production  of  oats  in  the  United  States  was  1,158,000,000 
bushels,  or  a  little  less  than  one  fourth  of  the  world  produc- 
tion. European  Russia  averaged  928,000,000  bushels  in  the 
same  period;  Germany,  596,000,000  bushels;  Canada,  365,- 
000,000  bushels,  and  France,  309,000,000  bushels. 

207.  Production  in  the  United  States.  In  the  United 
States,  oats  rank  second  to  corn  in  the  number  of  bushels 
of  grain  produced,  but  are  exceeded  in  total  weight  by  wheat 
as  well  as  by  corn.     In  value,  they  rank  fifth  among  our 


IMPORTANCE   OF   OATS 


169 


field  crops,  falling  below  corn,  cotton,  hay,  and  wheat.  The 
average  annual  area  devoted  to  the  production  of  oats  in 
the  United  States  for  the  ten  years  from  1908  to  1917  was 
38,367,000  acres;  the  average  annual  yield,  31.2  bushels  to 
the  acre;  average  total  production,  1,199,226,000  bushels; 
and  average  farm  value  on  December  1st,  $527,770,000. 
The  ten  leading  states  in  production  are  shown  in  Table  X. 

Table  X.  Average  annual  acreage,  production,  and  farm  value 
and  mean  acre  yield  of  oats  in  the  ten  states  of  largest  production 
for  the  ten  years  from  1908  to  1917. 


Area 

Average 

yield  per 

acre 

Production 

Farm  value 
Dec.  1. 

Iowa         .  . 

Acres 

4,936,000 
4,.323,000 
3,025,000 
2,246,000 
2,414,000 
1,746,000 
2,228,000 
1,713,000 
1,487,000 
1,623,000 
12,623,000 

Bushels 

35.0 
35.8 
32.0 
35.4 
27.7 
34.6 
25.8 
31.8 
33.0 
27.8 
28.5 

Bushels 

174,228,000 
1-55,534,000 
96,899,000 
78,887,000 
66,554,000 
60,969,000 
57,333,000 
54,810,000 
49,123,000 
45,502,000 
359,387,000 

Dollars 

68,815,000 

Illinois       

66,667,000 

Minnesota 

Wisconsin 

Nebraska 

Ohio     

37,469,000 
34,253,000 
27,340,000 
26,557,000 

North  Dakota. . 

Indiana 

Michigan 

South  Dakota. . 
All  others 

19,847,000 
22,934,000 
21,507,000 
17,365,000 
185,016,000 

TheU.  S 

38,367,000 

31.2 

1,199,226,000 

527,770.000 

As  shown  by  Table  X  .  and  Figure  66,  the  leading  states 
in  the  production  of  oats  are  Iowa,  Illinois,  Minnesota,  Wis- 
consin, and  Nebraska.  These  five  states  produce  nearly 
half  of  the  entire  oat  crop  of  the  country,  while  the  first  four, 
comprising  the  central  portion  of  the  upper  Mississippi 
Valley,  produce  more  than  500,000,000  bushels,  or  about 
one  ninth  of  the  entire  production  of  the  world.  The  per- 
centage of  the  total  crop  of  the  United  States  which  is  pro- 
duced by  each  of  the  important  states  is  shown  graphically 
in  Figure  67. 

More  than  10  per  cent  of  the  total  land  area  of  Iowa  and 
Illinois  is  annually  devoted  to  the  production  of  oats,  while 


170  FIELD  CROPfi 

from  four  to  seven  per  cent  of  the  total  areas  of  Wisconsin, 
Minnesota,  Nebraska,  Ohio,  Pennsylvania,  and  New  York 
are  utilized  for  this  purpose.  A  more  reliable  basis  for  com- 
paring the  relative  importance  of  the  oat  crop  in  the  various 
states  is  that  shown  in  Figure  67,  in  which  the  percentages 
of  the  total  improved  farm'  area  annually  sown  to  oats  in 
the  ten  leading  states  are  shown.  These  percentages  are 
based  on  the  annual  acreages  as  shown  in  Table  X  and  on 
the  acreage  of  improved  farm  land  as  shown  by  the  Census 
of  1910.  The  diagram  shows  that  oats  are  relatively  more 
important  in  Wisconsin  than  in  any  other  state,  nearly 
one  fifth  of  the  improved  farm  land  being  sown  to  this  crop. 
The  oat  crop  is  sown  on  nearly  one  sixth  of  the  improved 
farm  land  of  Iowa,  Illinois,  and  Minnesota,  and  on  one  tenth 
or  less  than  that  much  of 'the  other  six  states.  About  8  per 
cent  of  the  entire  acreage  of  improved  farm  land  in  the  United 
States  is  annually  devoted  to  oats. 

IOWA  —i^— M^— — — ^Mi"^^^—  14.7% 

ILLINOIS  vm^^Km^^mmm^Kmmm^mamm^mmmm^  i3.o% 

MINN.      ^m^mm^a^mm^mm^mmam  8.1% 

WIS.         wm^mm^^^mmmi^  6.6% 

NEBR.       mm^amm^^m^^  5.5% 

OHIO        ^^^tmK^^mm^  5.1% 

N.  DAK.    wmmmmmmmmm  4.8% 

INDIANA  ^^a^mam^m  4.6% 

MICH,      wmm^am^mmt  4.1% 

s.  DAK.    m^^^^am  3.8% 

Figure  66. — Graph  showing  the  percentage  of  the  total  oat  crop  in  the  United 
States  produced  in  the  ten  states  of  largest  production  in  the  ten  years  from 
1908  to   1917,  inclusive. 

208.  Acre  Yield.  The  states  which  rank  highest  in  acre 
yield  are  those  in  which  the  acreage  is  comparatively  small, 
both  because  large  areas  still  remain  to  be  developed  within 
their  borders,  and  because  oats  are  grown  almost  entirely 
on  irrigated  land,  which  comprises  only  a  small  proportion 
of  the  total  acreage.  The  combination  of  favorable  climatic 
conditions,  including  abundant  moisture  supplied  at  the 
right  time  in  their  development,  makes  oats  a  very  produc- 


PRODUCTION  OF  OATS  171 

tive  crop  in  these  states.  The  average  yield  to  the  acre 
for  the  ten-year  period  (1908-1917)  in  Washington  was  47.1 
bushels;  Utah,  46.0  bushels;  Idaho,  43.8  bushels;  and  Mon- 
tana, 41.7  bushels.  In  comparison  with  these  figures,  the 
average  yield  for  the  entire  United  States  was  31.2  bushels 
to  the  acre,  while  that  of  the  five  states  of  largest  total  pro- 
duction ranged  from  27.7  to  35.8  bushels.  Naturally,  much 
higher  yields  than  any  of  these  averages  indicate  are  obtained 
in  all  the  states.  Returns  of  from  150  to  200  bushels  to 
the  acre  have  been  recorded  in  some  of  the  North  Pacific  and 


16.7^ 


118.8% 


IOWA  ^^  ^ 

ILLINOIS  M^i— ^^iM^^"^—^— ^^^^  ^^-^^ 
MINN.  l^—i^MiM^^^^^^"^^'^^^^^'  ^^■*'y<^ 
WIS.  ^^^^^i^^"^^^^^^^'^^^*^'^''^^'^ 

NEBR.       ^^a^^^m^^K^^^^m^^m  9.9% 
OHIO       m^a^H^m^mm^^^i^a^^  9.1% 

N.  DAK.     — ^— ^^"i^M^^^^  10-9% 

INDIANA  ^mmm^m^Hm^^^^^^^^  iO-i% 

MICH.         — ^^^i^^"^^— ^'^— "^^  ll-67c 
S.DAK.      1^— ^— ^^—  10-3% 

u.  s.  ^^a^mma^m^^mmam  8.0% 

Figure  67.— Graph  showing  the  percentage  of  improved  farm  land  sown  to  oats  in 
each  of  the  ten  states  of  lar-est  production  and  m  the  Umted  States  during 
the  ten  years  from  1908  to  1917,  inchisivc. 

Rocky  Mountain  states,  while  in  the  upper  Mississippi 
Valley  crops  of  from  50  to  75  bushels  to  the  acre  are  obtained 
in  favorable  years.  The  average,  however,  is  kept  down 
by  unfavorable  seasons,  and  by  the  crops  grown  on  poor  soil 
and  on  poorly  prepared  land. 

THE  PRODUCTION  OF  THE  CROP 

209.  The  Best  Soils  for  Oats.  The  best  soils  for  oats 
are  those  which  warm  up  early  in  the  sprmg,  thus  aiding 
early  seeding  and  germination,  and  helping  to  mature  the 
crop  before  hot  weather.  As  oats  draw  more  heavily  on  the 
soU  moisture  than  most  of  the  other  grain  crops,  a  good  oat 
soil  is  also  one  that  holds  moisture  well.  This  combination 
is  found  in  the  loams  and  clay  loams;  heavy  clays  are  too 


172  FIELD  CROPS 

cold,  while  light  sandy  soils  are  too  Ukely  to  dry  out  when  the 
crop  is  in  the  greatest  need  of  moisture.  A  fairly  good  crop 
can  be  produced  on  almost  any  reasonably  fertile  land,  how- 
ever, if  other  conditions  are  right.  Some  of  the  heaviest 
yields  are  obtained  on  the  muck  soils  of  Washington. 

The  oat  plant  is  a  comparatively  shallow  feeder,  most  of 
its  roots  being  found  in  the  first  two  feet  of  soil.  For  this 
reason,  the  best  crops  are  produced  on  fairly  fertile  soil, 
though  on  rich  land  there  is  always  a  tendency  toward  rank 
growth  of  straw,  particularly  if  the  moisture  supply  is  abun- 
dant. This  rank  growth  and  abundant  moisture  invite 
such  diseases  as  rust  and  mildew,  and  the  weak,  soft  stems 
are  unable  to  support  the  weight  of  the  crop,  hence  lodging 
follows.  If  lodging  takes  place  early  in  the  season,  the  grain 
will  be  Ught  and'  fehriveled.  Lodging  when  the  grain  is 
nearly  ripe  usually  does  little  damage  to  the  crop,  though 
the  cost  of  harvesting  may  be  greatly  increased.  Lodging 
at  this  time  is  more  likely  to  be  due  to  the  blowing  over  of 
the  entire  plant  during  a  heavy  rain  storm  than  to  weakness 
of  the  straw.  Attempts  are  being  made  to  produce  oats 
which  are  resistant  to  the  tendency  to  lodge,  but  the  most 
effective  means  of  preventing  lodging  are  thorough  drainage 
and  the  use  of  land  that  has  not  been  freshly  manured. 

210.  Manure  and  Fertilizers.  It  has  just  been  stated 
that  the  land  should  not  be  too  rich  for  oats.  It  is  best  to 
apply  barnyard  manure  to  some  other  crop  in  the  rotation, 
such  as  corn  or  grass,  allowing  the  oats  to  get  some  of  the 
benefit  of  the  residual  effect  of  the  manure.  When  com- 
mercial fertihzers  are  necessary,  those  containing  phosphorus 
and  potassium  as  the  principal  elements  should  be  used, 
except  on  soils  which  are  decidedly  lacking  in  nitrogen.  On 
such  soils,  plowing  under  a  leguminous  crop  for  green  manure 
before  sowing  the  oats  is  frequently  of  much  benefit.  This 
is  most  necessary  and  can  be  done  to  best  advantage  in  the 
South,  where  oats  are  sown  in  the  fall.     On  soils  which  are 


PREPARING  THE  LAND  173 

lacking  in  potassium,  the  use  of  fertilizers  containing;  that 
mineral  usually  greatly  increases  the  yield,  and  at  the  same 
time  tends  toward  the  production  of  stiffer  straw.  In 
general,  where  the  use  of  commercial  fertilizers  is  necessary, 
the  largest  yields  are  obtained  from  the  application  of  small 


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^mlm'  M'^^^Ri^ 

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Wk 

Figure  68. — A  sample  of  oats  as  it  came  from  thethreshiug  maohine;  weight,  30 
pounds  to  the  bushel. 

quantities  of  a  mixture  of  all  three  of  the  important  fertiUz- 
ing  elements,  nitrogen,  potassium,  and  phosphorus. 

211.  Preparing  the  Land.  As  early  seechng  is  desirable 
in  order  to  have  the  crop  mature  before  hot  weather,  the 
preparation  of  the  seed  bed  should  begin  just  as  soon  as 
the  land  is  in  condition  to  work  in  the  spring.  A  mellow, 
rather  loose  surface  soil  with  a  firm  subsoil  is  best  for  oats. 
On  fields  where  a  cultivated  crop  was  grown  the  previous 
season,  this  is  most  quickly  and  easily  obtained  by  the  use 
of  the  disk  and  smoothing  harrows.  If  the  soil  is  natu- 
rally rather  loose  or  if  the  field  had  been  plowed  for  the  pre- 
ceding crop,  such  as  corn  or  potato  land,  just  as  good  yields 
are  often  obtained  by  disking  without  plowing  as  from  any 


174  FIELD  CROP."^ 


other  method  of  preparation.  Generally,  where  it  is  possible 
to  do  the  work,  fall  plowing  followed  by  spring  disking  and 
harrowing  will  produce  the  largest  yields  most  economically, 
because  soils  so  prepared  are  usually  in  the  best  shape  to 
store  up  moisture  for  the  use  of  the  crop.     Spring  plowing 


M 

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i 

SSw 

pH 

SH 

^£p 

w^iim 

S 

■Pa^ 

i|^^^ 

^■^gy 

^3^^^^ 

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^^^H^^^^B 

^^^flipP^^H 

n 

Figure  69. — Some  of  the  largest  and  heaviest  grains  out  of  the  same  lot  as  the 
sample  shown  in  Figure  68.     Weight,  39  pounds  to  the  bushel. 

frequently  delays  seeding,  and  unless  the  soil  is  thoroughly 
packed  to  firm  the  lower  layers,  it  is  likely  to  be  too  loose  for 
the  best  results. 

Where  oats  follow  some  other  small  grain,  the  land  is 
quite  generally  plowed;  but  in  the  corn  belt,  where  oats  are 
most  largely  grown,  they  are  usually  sown  on  the  corn  land 
without  plowing.  The  common  practice  is  to  disk  the  ground 
thoroughly  in  the  spring,  making  a  mellow  seed  bed  to  a 
depth  of  3  or  4  inches,  fining  and  smoothing  the  surface  with 
the  spike-tooth  harrow.  In  this  way,  veiy  good  results 
may  be  expected  at  reasonable  cost.  In  some  cases,  oats 
are  sown  broadcast  on  land  that  has  l^een  neither  disked  nor 
plowed,  the  only  preparation  given  being  the  disking  or 


PREPARING  OAT  SEED  175 

cultivating  necessary  to  cover  the  seed.  This  is  a  cheap 
but  a  very  slovenly  method  of  farming,  which,  while  it  may 
occasionally  produce  good  returns,  is  quite  likely  to  result 
in  reduced  yields  because  it  does  not  put  the  soil  in  proper 
condition  for  the  germination  of  the  seed  or  the  retention 
of  moisture  for  the  growth  of  the  crop. 

212.  Preparing  the  Seed  for  Planting.  It  is  even  more 
important  to  grade  seed  oats  before  sowing  than  seed  wheat, 
for  in  most  years  there  is  a  larger  proportion  of  weak,  shrunken 
kernels  in  oats  than  in  wheat.  These  kernels  are  slow  in 
germinating,  or  do  not  grow  at  all.  The  plants  produced 
from  them  are  small  and  weak,  and  never  yield  so  well 
as  those  from  large,  plump  kernels.  Oats  very  frequently 
contain  a  considerable  proportion  of  weed  seeds,  chaff,  and 
dirt,  all  of  which  tend  to  reduce  the  stand  by  lessening  the 
quantity  of  good  seed  which  is  sown.  Thorough  cleaning 
of  the  seed  with  the  fanning  mill  or  by  some  other  means  is 
advisable,  and  usually  pays  well  for  the  necessary  time  and 
labor.  Treating  the  seed  with  a  solution  of  formaldehyde 
before  sowing  will  destroy  oat  smut  (Section  237).  Details 
of  the  treatment  have  already  been  given  (Section  196,c). 

213.  Time  for  Sowing.  Oats  should  be  sown  as  early 
in  the  spring  as  the  ground  can  be  put  in  condition,  for  usualty 
the  plants  are  not  seriously  injured  by  late  frosts,  and  best 
results  are  obtained  when  the  crop  makes  as  much  growth 
as  possible  before  hot  weather.  All  tests  which  have  been 
made  by  the  experiment  stations  favor  early  seeding.  The 
exact  date  of  seeding  naturally  depends  on  the  locality  and 
the  season.  Seeding  may  be  entirely  finished  during  an 
early  spring  at  an  earlier  date  than  it  can  be  begun  in  a  back- 
ward one.  In  general,  the  best  date  from  Kansas  eastward 
is  during  the  latter  half  of  March.  In  Nebraska,  Illinois, 
Iowa,  and  other  states  in  the  same  latitude,  the  first  half  of 
April  is  usually  the  seeding  season,  though  in  exceptional 
years  seeding  may  be  finished  before  April  1,  or  may  be 


176  FIELD  VKOPt< 


delayed  until  almost  May  1.  In  the  Dakotas,  Minnesota, 
Wisconsin,  and  other  states  along  the  northern  border,  the 
usual  seeding  season  is  the  latter  half  of  April,  though  it 
may  extend  well  into  May  or  be  finished  by  April  20.     Fall- 


Figure  70. — Sowir>or  onts  T>-ith  a  broadcast  seeder  on  corn  land  without  previoub 
preparation.     A  careless  method  of  farming 

sown  oats  are  sown  in  September  in  North  Carolina,  Ten- 
nessee, and  Arkansas,  and  in  October  farther  south. 

214.  The  rate  of  seeding  varies  in  different  sections  as 
well  as  on  different  soils  and  with  different  varieties.  The 
usual  rate  is  from  2  to  3  bushels  to  the  acre,  though  in  some 
sections  it  is  considerably  greater,  while  in  the  ''dry-farming" 
region  of  the  \7est,  from  1  t6  1^  bushels  is  the  usual  rate. 
In  England  and  Scotland,  6  to  7  bushels  to  the  acre  is  some- 
times sown;  such  hea\^  seeding  is  almost  never  practiced 
in  this  country.  Numerous  experiments  in  the  upper  INlis- 
sissippi  Valley  show  that  there  is  little  difference  in  the  yield 
either  of  grain  or  straw  when  from  2  to  3  bushels  is  sown, 
but  that  the  yield  of  straw  increases  while  that  of  grain  de- 
creases at  rates  of  less  than  2  bushels.  Within  reasonable 
limits,  the  number  of  culms  produced  from  thin  seeding  will 
be  as  great  as  from  thick  seeding,  as  thin  seeding  induces 


SEEDING  IMPLEMENTS  111 

abundant  tillering,  especially  in  the  drier  and  warmer  soils. 

215.  Seeding  Implements.  Oats  are  now  sown  with  a 
broadcast  seeder  or  with  the  grain  drill.  Up  to  a  few  years 
ago  large  acreages  of  oats  and  of  other  grains  were  sown  broad- 
cast by  hand  and  the  seed  covered  with  the  disk  harrow, 
spike-tooth  harrow,  or  cultivator.  This  practice  is  still  quite 
common  in  some  sections,  except  that  the  broadcast  seeder 
has  been  substituted  for  the  old  method  of  scattering  the 
seed  by  hand.  Seeding  with  the  grain  drill  is  usually  re- 
garded as  the  most  profitable  and  satisfactory  method  of  sow- 
ing oats,  for  all  the  seed  is  covered  to  a  uniform  depth,  less 
seed  is  required,  and  the  yields  are  usually  better.  Uniform 
depth  of  covering  is  an  aid  to  uniform  germination  and 
growth;  in  broadcast  seeding,  some  of  the  seed  may  not  be 
covered  at  all,  some  may  be  at  the  best  depth,  and  some  may 
be  covered  too  deeply.  Less  seed  is  required  for  sowing  with 
the  drill,  since  there  is  no  loss  from  seed  which  fails  to  grow 
on  account  of  too  much  or  too  Httle  covering.  The  yield  is 
usually  better  on  account  of  the  more  uniform  stand  and 
growth  and  the  more  uniform  distribution  of  the  plants.  It 
is  claimed  that  drilling  produces  two  to  six  bushels  more 
per  acre  than  broadcasting. 

216.  The  proper  depth  to  cover  the  seed  depends  to  some 
extent  on  the  nature  of  the  soil  and  the  climatic  conditions. 
Seed  should  be  covered  somewhat  more  deeply  in  loose, 
sandy  soil  than  in  compact  clays  or  clay  loams.  In  semi- 
arid  regions  where  the  surface  soil  is  likely  to  diy  out,  deeper 
seeding  is  necessary  than  where  plenty  of  moisture  is  avail- 
able. In  general,  covering  to  a  depth  of  from  1  to  2  inches 
will  give  best  results. 

217.  Harrowing.  Harrowing  oats  after  they  are  up  is 
often  recommended  as  a  means  of  saving  moisture  by  break- 
ing the  crust  and  lessening  evaporation,  and  also  as  a  means 
of  destroying  weeds.  Harrowing  is  most  profitable  in  the 
drier  portions  of  the  country,  and  on. drilled  oats.     Harrow- 


ITS  FIELD  CROPi^ 

ing  oats  which  were  sown  broadcast  destroys  a  part  of  the 
plants  and  thus  lessens  the  stand.  Drilled  oats  should  be 
harrowed  in  the  direction  of  the  drill  rows  and  not  across 
them.  The  roller  may  be  used  instead  of  the  harrow  while 
the  plants  are  small.  After  the  plants  are  too  high  to  work 
with  the  harrow,  cultivation  may  be  continued  for  some  time 
by  using  a  light  weeder.  One  or  two  cultivations  are  about 
all  that  are  usually  profitable,  and  in  sections  where  the  rain- 
fall is  sufficient  for  the  best  growth  of  the  crop,  even  these 
may  be  an  added  expense  without  adequate  return.  The 
only  good  then  accomplished  is  the  destroying  of  weeds. 

218.  Irrigation.  In  the  Rocky  Mountain  and  Pacific 
states,  large  acreages  of  oats  are  grown  under  irrigation. 
The  depth  of  water  which  is  applied  generally  ranges  from 
15  to  20  inches;  that  is,  sufficient  water  to  cover  the  soil  to 
this  depth  if  all  were  applied  at  the  same  time.  Usually, 
however,  the  water  is  put  on  in  two  or  three  applications, 
and  is  applied  so  slowly  that  it  soaks  into  the  soil  within  a 
few  hours  after  the  supply  is  shut  off.  Water  is  generally 
supplied  about  the  time  heading  begins  and  again  when  the 
grain  is  filhng,  though  sometimes  the  land  is  irrigated  before 
or  immediately  after  seeding. 

HARVESTING  THE  CROP 

219.  Cutting.  There  is  little  or  no  difference  in  the 
methods  of  harvesting  oats  and  those  which  have  already 
been  given  for  harvesting  wheat.  The  crop  is  usually  cut 
with  the  binder,  though  occasionally  the  header  is  used  in 
some  of  the  drier  sections.  When  the  straw  is  very  short, 
due  to  continued  dry  weather,  the  crop  may  be  cut  with  the 
mower,  raked  into  shocks  and  handled  like  hay.  It  may  then 
be  stacked  and  threshed  the  same  as  grain  in  bundles,  or  it 
may  be  fed  in  the  straw  Hke  hay.  The  only  difference  is 
that  if  it  is  to  be  fed  as  hay,  the  crop  should  be  cut  before 
it  is  full}^  ripe,  as  many  of  the  leaves  will  be  lost  in  handling 


t^HOCKiya    OATS 


179 


if  the  grain  is  allowed  to  mature,  and  the  straw  will  not  be  of 
as  good  quaUty  for  feed.  Grain  which  is  cut  with  the  mower 
should  be  handled  as  Httle  as  possible  to  avoid  shattering. 
Oats  should  not  be  cut  till  they  have  passed  the  hard  dough 
stage,  or  the  yield  will  l^e  reduced  and  the  grain  will  be  green 
and  shrunken. 
The  best  time  to 
cut  is  just  before 
the  heads  turn 
yellow,  as  the  fill- 
ing of  the  grain 
will  then  be  com- 
pleted in  the  shock 
and  there  will  be 
no  loss  from  shat- 
tering. Winter 
oats  in  the  South 
are  harvested  in 
the  latter  part  of 
J\lay  and  the  first 
half  of  June.  The 
harvesting  of 
spring  oats  is  be- 
gun in  Texas  and  the  other  Southern  states  in  June,  and  is 
completed  in  the  North  about  September  1.  Oat  harvest  in 
Illinois  and  Iowa  is  in  the  month  of  July. 

220.  Shocking.  Oats  cut  with  the  grain  binder  are  usu- 
ally set  up  to  cure  in  shocks  of  ten  or  twelve  bundles.  As 
with  other  grains,  the  bundles  should  be  set  firmly  on  the 
butts  and  the  shocks  built  well  to  avoid  as  much  as  possible 
the  danger  of  blowing  over  in  storms.  Much  of  the  value 
of  the  crop  depends  on  the  way  it  is  shocked,  for  poor  shock- 
ing exposes  the  grain  to  the  weather  and  causes  it  to  be 
greatly  damaged  in  color  and  quality  by  hard  rains.  It 
really  makes  little  difference  whether  the  long  or  the  round 


Figure  71. — A  good  shock  of  oats. 


180 


FIELD  CROPS 


shock  is  built,  if  the  shock  is  properly  set  up  and  capped.     In 
wet  weather  bundles  may  be  set  up  and  capped  later. 

Oats  are  often  put  into  shocks  without  capping,  but  this 
exposes  all  the  grain  to  the  weather,  when  nearly  all  could  be 
protected  by  putting  a  little  more  time  into  the  operation. 
The  C2p  consists  of  one  or  two  bundles  laid  on  the  top  of  the 
shock  to  form  a  protecting  cover.  These  bundles  should  be 
firmly  pb.ced  and  so  bid  that  they  will  protect  as  large  a  part 
as  possible  of  the  heads  of  the  bundles  in  the  shock.     If 

two  bundles  are 


Figure  72 — A  setting  of  well-built  stacks  of  grain. 


used  in  capping, 
the  head  of  one 
should  overlap 
the  head  of  the 
other.  The  long 
shock  is  to  be 
preferred  for 
grain  that  is  not 
fully  ripe  or  that 
contains  a  con- 
siderable pro- 
portion of  weeds,  because  it  allows  a  better  circulation  of  air 
and  dries  out  better  than  the  round  shock. 

221.  Stacking.  It  is  usually  advisable  to  stack  oats, 
though  threshing  from  the  shock  is  a  very  common  practice 
in  some  sections.  If  good  weather  for  several  weeks  after 
harvest  could  be  assured,  and  a  threshing  machine  could 
always  be  obtained  when  desired,  there  would  be  little  ob- 
jection to  the  practice  of  leaving  oats  in  the  shock  until 
threshing  time.  Frequently,  however,  continued  rains  pre- 
vent threshing  and  cause  much  damage  to  grain  which  is  left 
unstacked.  A  better  quality  of  grain  is  almost  always  ob- 
tained if  oats  are  stacked  about  ten  days  or  two  weeks  after 
harvest.  Stacking  and  threshing  costs  about  one  cent  a 
bushel   more   than   threshing  from   the   shock;  the   choice 


THRESHING  OATS  181 

between  the  two  systems  depends  largely  on  the  season  and 
the  locality,  as  well  as  the  circumstances  of  the  time. 

If  the  grain  is  stacked,  it  should  be  left  in  the  shock  to 
cure  for  a  week  or  ten  days,  after  which  it  should  be  hauled 
to  a  convenient  place  near  the  barns  for  stacking.  The 
straw  can  then  be  placed  where  it  can  be  used  most  advan- 
tageously. The  grain  should  be  dry  when  stacked,  as  it  is 
Hkely  to  mold  if  damp.  The  bottom  of  the  stack  should  be 
built  of  old  rails  or  some  similar  material  to  raise  it  a  few 
inches  off  the  ground  and  prevent  the  absorption  of  moisture 
from  the  soil.  The  conical  stack  is  preferable  to  the  long 
rick  which  is  sometimes  built,  for  it  sheds  water  rather  bet- 
ter. Whatever  form  is  built,  the  bundles  should  be  so  laid 
that  all  the  grain  is  protected  from  weathering. 

222.  Threshing.  If  grain  is  to  be  threshed  from  the 
shock,  the  threshing  should  be  done  as  soon  as  possible  after 
the  bundles  are  well  cured,  thus  lessening  the  time  in  which 
it  can  be  damaged  by  bad  weather.  Stacked  grain  should  be 
allowed  to  stand  for  at  least  two  weeks  before  threshing,  and 
a  longer  time  is  even  better.  The  grain  goes  through  a 
sweating  process  both  in  the  shock  and  in  the  stack,  and 
should  not  be  threshed  until  this  is  about  completed.  When 
threshed  from  the  shock,  it  should  be  thoroughly  dry,  or  much 
of  the  grain  will  not  be  removed  by  the  thresher.  Properly 
stacked  grain  is  ready  for  threshing  within  a  few  hours  after 
a  rain,  or  as  soon  as  the  exposed  portions  of  the  bundles  have 
dried  off. 

Attention  should  be  given  to  the  threshing  machine  to 
insure  the  removal  of  all  the  grain  from  the  straw,  and  to 
see  that  the  grain  is  thoroughly  cleaned  of  chaff  and  dirt. 
Threshing  machines  in  good  order  can  do  a  veiy  thorough 
job  in  both  these  respects  if  properly  regulated.  The  straw 
should  be  put  up  in  good  stacks  or  run  into  the  barn,  for  it 
is  too  valuable  to  take  chances  on  having  it  spoiled  by  poor 
stacking  and  bad  weather. 


182  FIELD  CROP 8 

223.  Storing  the  Grain.  Oats  are  sometimes  hauled 
direct  from  the  threshing  machine  to  the  elevator  and  sold, 
but  by  far  the  greater  part  of  the  crop  is  stored  to  be  used  on 
the  farm  or  to  be  sold  at  some  later  time.  More  than  two 
thirds  of  the  oats  grown  in  the  United  States  is  fed  on  the 
farms  where  they  are  grown.  Clean,  tight  bins  are  neces- 
sary for  the  proper  storing  of  this  grain.  These  should  be 
placed  well  above  the  ground,  where  there  is  no  possibilitj^ 
of  the  grain's  absorbing  moisture  from  the  soil.  They  should 
be  separated  by  a  tight  partition  from  the  portion  of  the 
barn  where  live  stock  is  kept,  to  prevent  the  absorption  of 
moisture  from  the  stable.  The  storage  bin,  however,  should 
be  located  near  the  place  where  the  grain  is  to  be  fed,  to 
avoid  extra  labor  in  handling.  In  the  Southern  and  Central 
states,  where  grain  is  frequently  destroyed  bj^  grain  weevils 
and  moths,  storing  in  tight  bins  with  covers  of  sheet  iron  or 
matched  lumber  is  almost  necessary  in  order  that  the  grain 
can  be  fumigated.  Some  means  of  keeping  mice  and  rats 
out  of  the  bins  should  be  provided,  if  possible. 

MARKETING  AND  RETURNS 

224.  Market  Grades.  The  market  grades  for  oats  are 
less  strictly  adhered  to  than  those  for  wheat  and  compara- 
tively little  difference  is  made  on  the  market  between  clean, 
bright  grain  and  that  which  contains  considerable  quantities 
of  chaff,  dirt,  and  weed  seeds,  or  is  discolored.  Usualty  this 
difference  is  not  enough  to  pay  the  farmer  for  cleaning  his 
grain,  though  it  does  justify  him  in  demanding  proper  separa- 
tion and  cleaning  by  the  threshing  machine.  The  market 
grades  of  oats  depend  on  color,  weight  and  freedom  from 
dirt  and  discoloration.  The  commercial  grades  are  Nos. 
1,  2,  3,  and  4,  in  white,  mixed,  and  red,  or  rustproof,  oats. 
In  white  oats,  a  special  grade  known  as  ''standard"  is  pro- 
viderl,  ranking  between  No.  2  and  No.  3.  Most  of  the  oats 
sold  on  the  market  is  of  this  grade  or  No.  3.     Usually  there 


MARKETING  AND  RETURNti  183 

is  a  difference  of  1  or  2  cents  a  bushel  between  any  particular 
grade  and  the  one  next  below  of  the  same  color.  White 
oats  ordinarily  sell  higher  than  mixed  or  red  oats.  Grades 
are  also  provided  for  white  and  mixed  clipped  oats.  Grain 
which  comes  under  this  classification  has  been  run  through  a 
machine  which  clips  off  the  long  tip  of  the  hull.  Clipped 
oats  weigh  about  3  pounds  to  the  bushel  more  than  undipped 
oats  otherwise  of  the  same  grade.  The  legal  weight  of  a 
bushel  of  oats  in  most  states  is  32  pounds;  in  Canada  it  is  34 
pounds.  The  weight  of  a  measured  bushel  is  extremely 
variable,  ranging  from  as  low  as  20  pounds  or.less  in  unfavor- 
able years  in  the  South  to  40  pounds  or  more  in  Montana, 
Washington,  and  other  Northwestern  states. 

225.  Exports  and  Imports.  Only  about  2  per  cent  of  the 
oat  crop  is  normally  exported,  and  in  some  years  the  export 
trade  falls  to  almost  nothing.  Very  small  quantities  are 
imported.  The  imports  usually  consist  of  grain  from  Canada 
or  northern  Europe  for  seed  purposes,  though  importations 
have  been  made  from  Argentina  in  seasons  when  there  was 
an  unusual  shortage  of  milling  oats  in  this  country. 

226.  Prices.  The  price  of  oats  per  bushel  depends  on  the 
supply  not  only  of  this  crop  but  of  other  grains,  and  on  the 
local  demand.  The  average  price  of  oats  on  the  farm  on 
December  1st  for  the  ten  years  from  1908  to  1917,  for  the 
entire  United  States,  was  43.7  cents  per  bushel,  ranging  from 
31.9  cents  in  1912  to  66.9  cents  in  1917.  The  highest  aver- 
age price  is  to  be  found  in  the  Pacific  and  Southern  states, 
from  45  to  75  cents  a  bushel.  In  New  England  the  price  is 
but  little  lower,  while  in  the  upper  Mississippi  Valley  where 
the  bulk  of  the  crop  is  raised,  the  average  price  in  recent 
years  has  been  around  40  cents. 

The  value  of  an  acre  of  oats  depends  naturally  on  the 
yield  and  the  value  per  bushel.  The  highest  values  are 
found  in  the  Rocky  Mountain  and  Pacific  states,  where  high 
yield  and  high  price  are  combined;  but  as  most  of  this  grain 


184 


FIELD  CROPS 


1 

So- 

h 


cj-e 


a* 


COST  OF  PKODUCINQ  OATS  185 

is  grown  under  irrigation,  the  cost  of  production  is  also  high- 
High  values  are  also  prevalent  In  New  England.  In  the 
South,  the  high  price  makes  up  in  part  for  the  low  yield,  so 
that  the  acre  value  is  about  as  high  as  the  average  for  the 
entire  country.  The  lowest  acre  values  are  found  in  the 
states  of  largest  production,  where  medium  yields  are  com- 
bined with  low  price  per  bushel.  The  average  value  per 
acre  for  the  entire  United  States  for  the  five  years  from  1913 
to  1917  was  about  $15.74.  The  value  in  the  New  England, 
Rocky  Mountain,  and  Pacific  states  in  1918  ranged  from  $25 
to  $38.  In  Ilhnois,  on  account  of  an  unusual  combination 
of  high  yield  and  high  price,  the  acre  value  was  $33.80,  as 
compared  with  an  average  of  $14.00  for  the  previous  five 
years. 

227.  Cost  of  Production.  The  most  definite  figures  on 
the  cost  of  producing  an  acre  or  a  bushel  of  oats  are  those 
collected  by  the  Bureau  of  Statistics  and  the  Minnesota 
Experiment  Station.  These  figures  showed  a  cost  of  from 
$7  to  $10  an  acre,  or  from  23  to  31  cents  a  bushel  in  1909. 
In  Illinois,  the  cost  of  production  of  the  average  crop  of 
oats  is  estimated  at  35  cents  a  bushel.  A  general  investiga- 
tion of  this  subject  was  reported  by  the  Bureau  of  Statistics 
in  the  Crop  Reporter  for  June,  1911,  where  estimates  of 
some  five  thousand  correspondents  in  all  parts  of  the  country 
on  the  cost  of  producing  oats  in  the  year  1909  are  tabulated. 
The  average  of  all  reports  showed  a  cost  of  $10.91  an  acre, 
or  31  cents  a  bushel.  The  average  farm  value  of  the  crop 
that  year  was  placed  at  $14.08  an  acre,  or  40  cents  a  bushel. 
The  items  included  in  the  cost  totals  were  commercial  fer- 
tilizers, preparation  of  the  land,  seed,  planting,  harvesting, 
preparation  for  marketing,  land  rental  or  interest  on  land 
values,  and  miscellaneous  items  of  expense.  The  largest 
single  item  was  rent,  averaging  $3.78  an  acre;  then  followed 
preparation  of  the  land,  $1.88;  preparing  for  market  (thresh- 
ing, grading,  etc.),  $1.51;  harvesting,  $1.34;  and  seed,  $1.12. 


186  FIELD  CROPS 

The  average  net  return  from  the  grain  was  $3.17  an  acre,  to 
which  should  be  added  the  value  of  the  by-products,  $1.42, 
making  an  average  total  profit  of  $4.59  an  acre.  All  items 
of  cost,  particularly  labor,  are  now  (1918)  much  higher  than 
in  1909.  The  value  of  the  crop  is  also  much  higher,  as  shown 
in  the  preceding  paragraphs. 

The  cost  per  bushel  in  1909  in  the  five  states  of  greatest 
production  was:  in  Iowa,  29  cents;  Illinois,  30  cents;  Wis- 
consin, 31  cents;  Minnesota,  28  cents;  and  Nebraska,  30 
cents.  These  figures  show  a  margin  of  from  5  to  11  cents 
net  profit  when  compared  with  the  farm  prices  for  the  same 
year.  When  the  value  of  the  by-products  is  added,  the  net 
return  per  acre  was  $3.34  in  Iowa;  in  Illinois,  $3.79;  Wisconsin, 
$6.24;  Minnesota,  $3.93;  and  Nebraska,  $2.09.  The 
highest  cost  of  production  recorded  was  for  Maine,  $20.64 
per  acre,  with  a  net  return  including  the  value  of  the  by- 
products of  $6.52;  the  lowest  cost  was  for  North  Dakota, 
$8.71,  with  a  net  return  of  $3.47.  The  highest  net  return  for 
any  state  was  for  New  Hampshire,  $16.57  an  acre,  and  the 
lowest,  for  Nebraska,  $2.09. 

These  figures  show  that  there  is  ordinarily  little  profit  in 
growing  oats  where  low  average  yields  are  obtained,  par- 
ticularly when  the  value  of  the  straw  is  not  taken  into  con- 
sideration. It  is  probable  that  crops  of  oats  of  less  than  25 
bushels  to  the  acre  are  usually  produced  at  a  loss,  though  in 
the  South  the  high  value  per  bushel  sometimes  returns  a 
profit  from  yields  of  20  bushels  or  even  less. 

RELATION  TO  OTHER  CROPS 

228.  Place  in  the  Rotation.  In  Iowa,  Illinois,  and  the 
other  states  of  the  corn  belt,  oats  usually  follow  corn.  A 
common  rotation  where  winter  wheat  is  not  grown  in  this 
section  consists  of  two  crops  of  corn,  followed  by  a  crop  of 
oats  and  one  or  more  crops  of  grass  or  clover.  In  Maine, 
Minnesota,  and  other  states  where  potatoes  are  an  important 


OATS  AS  A  NURSE  CROP 


187 


crop,  a  common  rotation  consists  of  one  crop  each  of  po- 
tatoes, oats,  and  clover.  In  the  South,  a  good  rotation 
which  includes  winter  oats  and  the  two  most  important 
crops  of  the  Southern  states,  corn  and  cotton,  is  as  follows: 
First  year, cotton;  second 
year,  corn,  with  cowpeas 
sown  in  the  corn;  third 
year,  winter  oats  sown 
after  the  corn  is  removed, 
and  followed  with  cow- 
peas  to  be  cut  for  hay. 
All  these  rotations  in- 
clude a  leguminous  crop 
to  add  nitrogen  to  the  soil . 
In  the  grain-growing  sec- 
tions of  Minnesota  and 
the  Dakotas,  where  no 
regular  rotation  is  prac- 
ticed, oats  usuall}^  follow 
wheat.  Better  yields  are 
obtained  where  oats  fol- 
low wheat  than  the  re- 
verse in  a  rotation  which 
includes  both  crops;  that 
is,  that  corn,  wheat,  oats, 
is  a  better  sequence  than 
corn,  oats,  wheat. 

229.  Use  as  a  Nurse 
Crop.     Oats  are  largely 

used  as  a  nurse  crop.  The  practice  of  seeding  to  grass  and 
clover  with  oats  is  a  very  common  one.  While  this  method 
of  attempting  to  establish  a  meadow  or  pasture  is  so  often 
used,  it  is  not  always  successful.  As  oats  draw  heavily  on  the 
soil  moisture  and  also  shade  the  ground  closely,  barley  and 
wheat,  which  take  less  moisture  from  the  soil  and  make  less 


Figure   74. — Oat   smut;    normal   head   at   the 
left,  smutted  head  on  the  right. 


188  FIELD  CROPS 

shade,  are  better  nurse  crops.  Oats  start  growth  early  in 
the  season,  and  on  account  of  their  dense  growth  are  a 
fairly  good  crop  to  clear  the  land  of  weeds.  Barley  is  rather 
better,  however,  since  it  matures  earlier  in  the  season,  and  is 
cut  before  many  of  the  weeds  have  matured  their  seeds.  If 
oats  are  used  as  a  nurse  crop,  an  early  variety  should  be  sown, 
and  it  should  be  seeded  thinly. 

230.  Sowing  with  Other  Grains.  A  rather  common 
practice  among  some  farmers,  particularly  in  Canada  and 
in  some  of  the  Northern  states,  is  to  sow  oats  with  some  other 
small  grain  crop,  as  barley  or  wheat.  In  Canada,  the  most 
common  combination  is  oats  and  barley.  Experiments 
show  that  larger  yields  of  grain  in  total  pounds  are  produced 
from  a  combination  which  is  about  half  barley  and  half  oats 
than  from  either  alone.  In  order  to  have  the  two  grains 
mature  at  the  same  time,  a  rather  late  barley  and  a  medium 
early  oat  are  necessary.  In  Minnesota  and  some  other 
states,  wheat  and  oats  are  often  grown  together.  While  the 
oats  and  barley  grown  in  mixtures  in  Canada  are  usually 
fed  together  on  the  farm  or  sold  as  feed,  on  account  of  the 
difficulty  of  separating  the  two  grains,  mixtures  of  wheat  and 
oats  are  frequently  taken  to  elevators  to  be  separated,  the 
oats  being  then  returned  to  the  farm  and  the  wheat  sold.  It 
is  doubtful  whether  the  increased  yield  from  this  combina- 
tion is  sufficient  to  pay  for  the  expense  of  separation,  but 
where  all  the  grain  is  fed  on  the  farm,  the  growing  together 
of  varieties  of  barley  and  oats  which  ripen  at  the  same  time 
often  increases  the  profits  from  these  crops. 

THE  USES  OF  OATS 

231.  Feeding  to  Stock.  By  far  the  greater  part  of  the 
oat  crop  is  fed  to  live  stock,  principally  to  horses.  Oats 
have  long  been  regarded  as  the  best  grain  feed  for  horses, 
and  while  corn  has  rather  largely  replaced  them  for  this  pur- 
pose in  recent  years  on  account  of  its  larger  yield  and  rela- 


USES  OF  OA  TS  189 

tively  lower  cost,  they  are  still  in  high  favor  among  horsemen. 
For  feeding  to  other  stock,  oats  are  commonly  mixed  with 
corn,  if  used  at  all.  They  are  an  excellent  grain  for  dairy  cat- 
tle and  sheep.  The  hulls  make  them  objectionable  for  feed- 
ing to  hogs,  because  the  small  stomachs  of  these  animals  are 
not  able  to  hold  enough  of  this  grain  to  allow  them  to  util- 
ize it  to  advantage.  Ground  oats  mixed  with  swill  make  an 
excellent  mash  to  feed  to  brood  sows,  however,  and  are  highly 
recommended  by  hog  raisers. 

In  feeding  value,  oats  compare  very  favorably  with  wheat, 
in  spite  of  the  fact  that  they  contain  a  much  larger  pro- 
portion of  crude  fiber  (the  hull) .  In  protein  content  they  are 
slightly  lower  than  wheat  but  higher  than  barley  or  corn,  con- 
taining 9.2  pounds  to  100  pounds  of  dry  matter.  They  are 
rather  low  in  carbohydrates,  47.3  pounds  in  100,  as  com- 
pared with  65  to  69  in  the  other  grains;  but  contain  as  much 
fat  as  corn,  4.2  pounds,  and  more  than  double  the  quantity 
found  in  wheat  or  barley.  Oats  are  a  muscle-building  rather 
than  a  fattening  feed,  and  are  more  valuable  for  animals  at 
hard  work,  like  horses  or  dairy  cows,  than  for  fattening 
animals,  like  beef  cattle.  On  account  of  the  mineral  matter 
they  contain,  which  is  largely  utilized  by  animals  in  the  for- 
mation of  bones,  as  well  as  the  protein,  which  is  the  muscle- 
building  element,  oats  are  an  excellent  feed  for  young  and 
growing  animals  of  all  kinds.  They  are  largely  used  by 
poultry  raisers,  particularly  for  feeding  to  flocks  which  are 
kept  for  egg  production. 

232.  Use  as  Human  Food.  Oats  have  been  long  used 
as  food  in  Scotland,  but  have  only  recently  come  into  com- 
mon use  in  other  countries.  In  Scotland,  oats  are  generally 
used  as  groats  (the  hulled  grain  soaked  and  eaten  raw,  or 
cooked  in  the  form  of  mush  or  of  thin  cakes)  rather  than  in 
the  form  of  flakes  or  rolled  oats  so  common  in  this  country. 
Oatmeal  when  properly  cooked  is  the  best  and  cheapest  of 
the  cereal  foods.     Long  cooking  is  necessary  to  make  diges- 


190  FIELD  CROPS 

tible  all  the  protein  it  contains.  Oatmeal  and  other  oat 
products  are  now  (1918)  used  as  a  partial  substitute  for  wheat 
flour  in  bread  making. 

233.  Oat  Straw.  The  only  by-product  resulting  from 
the  production  of  the  oat  grain  is  straw,  which  is  largely  used 
for  feeding  to  stock  as  roughage.  Oat  straw  is  higher  in 
feeding  value  and  is  more  readily  eaten  by  stock  than  the 
straw  from  any  other  grain.  It  is  practically  equal  to  corn 
stover  (cornstalks  with  the  ears  removed)  for  feeding.  It  is 
too  bulky  for  feeding  to  fattening  animals  or  those  at  hard 
work,  except  as  a  small  part  of  the  ration,  but  as  a  main- 
tenance ration  to  'Vinter  over"  stock,  it  is  excellent  when 
fed  with  a  little  good  hay  or  some  grain.  Straw  which  is  not 
utilized  for  feed  is  commonly  used  as  bedding  for  animals, 
a  purpose  to  which  it  is  well  adapted,  for  it  absorbs  liquids 
readily  and  soon  decays  in  the  manure.  As  it  is  less  harsh 
than  the  straw  of  other  grains  and  is  free  from  beards,  it  is  to 
be  preferred  for  this  purpose.  The  fertilizing  value  of  a  ton 
of  straw  at  present  prices  is  so  high,  that  no  one  can  afford  to 
burn  it.  Where  it  is  not  possible  to  utilize  the  straw  either 
as  feed  or  bedding,  it  will  usually  pay  to  spread  it  on  the  land 
and  plow  it  under  to  add  vegetable  matter  to  the  soil. 

234.  By-Products  of  Milling.  The  by-products  of  the 
oat  milling  industry  are  not  very  important,  since  they  con- 
stitute only  a  small  part  of  the  grain  by-products.  Quite 
frequently  the  oat  hulls,  light  oats,  and  oat  dust  are  ground 
with  corn  and  sold  as  corn-and-oat  feeds.  These  feeds 
are  decidedly  variable  in  their  character,  depending  very 
largely  on  the  proportion  of  oat  hulls  they  contain,  and 
should  be  carefully  examined  before  a  purchase  is  made. 
Ground  corn  and  oats  make  an  excellent  feed,  but  it  should 
not  contain  an  unusually  large  percentage  of  oat  hulls,  show- 
ing the  addition  of  this  refuse  to  the  whole  grain. 

235.  Oats  for  Hay  and  Pasture.  If  oats  are  cut  before 
the  grain  matures,  while  the  leaves  are  still  green  and  the 


INSECTS  AND  DISEASES  191 

straw  is  soft,  hay  of  excellent  quality  can  be  made.  Field 
peas  are  frequently  sown  with  oats  when  the  crop  is  to  be 
cured  into  hay  or  is  to  be  cut  green  for  feeding.  Peas  add  to 
the  yield  as  well  as  to  the  feeding  value  of  the  crop.  A  com- 
mon rate  of  seeding  is  1  bushel  of  peas  and  IJ^i  bushels  of  oats 
to  the  acre.  Oats  and  peas  may  also  be  used  as  pasture  for 
stock  of  all  kinds  w4iere  permanent  pasture  is  lacking.  Hogs 
should  not  be  turned  in  on  this  pasture  until  the  peas  have 
made  considerable  growth,  as  they  will  quickly  destroy  the 
young  plants.  Sheep  and  hogs  will  make  good  use  of  both 
peas  and  oats  if  not  turned  on  the  crop  until  it  matin-es. 

IN8ECT8  AND  DISEASE^ 

236.  Insect  Enemies.  Several  of  the  insects  which  are 
troublesome  in  wheat  are  also  destructive  to  oats,  though  this 
crop  is  seldom  seriously  injured  by  insect  pests.  Among  the 
more  troublesome  insects  in  oats  are  the  army  worm,  chinch 
bug,  green  bug,  or  grain  aphis,  and  the  grasshopper.  Except 
in  years  of  specialh'  heavy  damage,  it  is  usualty  not  profitable 
to  attempt  to  destro}^  insects  in  oat  fields,  for  the  expense 
of  killing  them  is  greater  than  the  damage  they  do.  The 
means  of  combating  chinch  bugs  which  are  given  under  wheat 
(Section  196)  are  equally  applicable  for  oats  and  other  crops. 
The  most  destructive  insects  in  stored  grains  are  the  Angou- 
mois  grain  moth  and  the  various  grain  weevils.  Oats,  on 
account  of  the  protection  given  by  the  hull,  are  less  frequently 
damaged  bj^  these  insects  than  wheat,  rye,  or  barley.  Placing 
the  grain  in  tight  bins  and  fumigating  with  carbon  bisulphide 
or  hydrocyanic  acid  gas  is  i-ecommended  where  these  pests 
are  common. 

237.  Diseases.  The  most  common  and  destructive  dis- 
eases which  attack  the  oat  crop  are  the  rusts  and  smuts.  The 
rusts  are  of  two  kinds,  usually  known  as  the  leaf  rust  and  the 
stem  rust,  from  the  portions  of  the  plant  which  they  most 
commonly  attack.     The  leaf  rust  of  oats  is  well  known  to 


KJ2  FIELD  CHOPS 

everyone,  on  account  of  the  abundance  of  its  brick-red  spores 
on  the  leaves  and  stems  at  harvest  time  in  years  favorable 
to  its  development.  The  stem  rust  of  oats  is  very  similar 
to  the  stem  rust  of  wheat,  appearing  as  black  spots  or  blotches 
on  the  leaves  and  stems  shortly  before  the  grain  ripens.  The 
stem  rust  is  rather  less  common  than  the  leaf  rust,  but  when 
it  occurs  it  injures  the  crop  more  seriously.  Both  these  rusts 
are  very  common  in  the  South,  appearing  practically  every 
year.  In  the  Northern  states,  where  climatic  conditions  are 
more  favorable  to  the  growth  of  oats,  rust  injury  is  decidedly 
less  frequent.  It  is  most  likely  to  occur  in  wet  seasons, 
when  the  growth  of  the  crop  is  rank.  Oats  on  rich,  wet  land 
are  particularly  hkel}'  to  be  infected.  The  conditions  favor- 
able to  the  development  of  this  disease  are  soft,  rank  growth, 
dam_p,  cloudy  weather  or  heavy  dews;  and  land  which  is  par- 
ticularly retentive  of  moisture.  No  effective  remedies  have 
yet  been  discovered.  Some  varieties  or  strains  of  oats  appear 
to  be  more  rust-resistant  than  others,  and  plant  breeders  are 
attempting  to  develop  this  quality  to  a  still  greater  degree. 
As  conditions  favorable  to  rust  are  most  likely  to  occur  late 
in  the  growing  season,  earty  varieties  often  escape  rust  at- 
tacks which  do  serious  damage  to  late  oats.  The  best  pre- 
ventive measure  is  to  sow  early  varieties  on  well-drained  land 
which  is  not  too  rich,  thus  avoiding  as  much  as  possible  the 
danger  of  too  rank  growth  and  the  moist  conditions  so  con- 
ducive to  the  development  of  rust. 

Oat  smut  is  also  of  tw^o  kinds,  the  loose  and  the  covered. 
These  smuts  differ  but  little  in  appearance,  and  their  life 
histories  are  practically  the  same.  The  spore  enters  the 
growing  point  of  the  plant  about  the  time  of  germination, 
and  the  slender  threads  of  the  smut  fungus  develop  in  the 
tissues  of  the  plant  along  with  its  natural  growth.  The 
smut  reaches  its  mature  form  in  masses  of  black,  powdery 
dust,  or  spores,  which  replace  part  or  all  of  the  oat  head.  In 
ioose  smut  the  chaff  as  well  as  the  grain  itself  is  replaced  by 


IMPROV/JMIJXT  or  OATH  193 

tho  smut  masses,  while  in  covered  smut  the  chaff  remains 
in  its  natural  state,  enclosing  the  smut  spores.  Smutted 
heads  mature  before  the  healthy  ones,  and  as  the  straw  of 
the  diseased  plants  is  usually  shorter,  the  smutted  heads  are 
not  readily  seen  at  harvest  time  and  the  actual  damage  from 
the  disease  is  usually  underestimated.  It  probably  averages 
2  or  3  per  cent  of  the  crop,  or  from  $6,000,000  to  $10,000,000 
annually  for  the  United  States.  In  some  fields  it  may  destroj^ 
as  much  as  half  the  crop .  Fortunately,  both  kinds  of  oat 
smut  are  easily  and  cheaply  controlled  by  the  use  of  the 
formaldehyde  solution  (Section  196,  c).  This  treatment  is  so 
cheap  and  so  entirely  effective  that  farmers  cannot  afford  to 
neglect  it.  Seed  should  be  treated  at  least  as  often  as  every 
alternate  year,  and  treatment  every  year  is  much  safer. 
Even  though  all  the  smut  on  a  given  farm  may  be  destroyed, 
it  is  pretty  certain  that  some  of  the  spores  will  be  scattered 
through  the  threshed  grain,  having  been  carried  from  neigh- 
boring farms  in  the  threshing  machine,  so  that  treatment 
every  year  is  the  surest  way  of  keeping  down  this  disease. 

IMPROVEMENT  OF  THE  CROP 

238.  Opportunities  for  Improvement.     The  oat  crop  has 

received  much  less  attention  from  plant  breeders  and  farmers 
in  America  than  corn  and  wheat.  Some  European  breeders 
have  devoted  their  efforts  to  the  improvement  of  oats  and 
have  obtained  remarkably  good  results.  Some  of  the  best 
varieties  of  oats  now  grown  in  the  United  States,  particularly 
in  the  northern  portion,  have  been  produced  by  Swedish  and 
English  plant  breeders.  Experiment  stations  are  devoting 
considerable  attention  to  oat  breeding,  and  the  development 
of  high-yielding  strains  is  likely  to  result. 

Qualities  which  breeders  aim  to  combine  to  a  greater  or 
less  extent  are  increased  yield,  increased  size  of  individual 
grains,  greater  weight  per  bushel,  greater  proportion  of  ker- 
ne] to  hull,  earher  maturity,  and  greater  resistance  to  lodg- 


194  FIELD  CROPS 

ing  and  disease.  Most  of  these  factors  operate  in  one  way 
or  another  to  increase  the  total  yield.  Early  maturity  is 
particularly  desirable  in  the  Southern  and  Central  states,  so 
that  the  grain  may  ripen  before  the  hot  summer  weather, 
which  is  unfavorable  to  the  growth  of  this  crop.  An  increase 
in  the  proportion  of  kernel  to  hull  is  specially  desired  by 
manufacturers  of  oatmeal  and  by  stock  feeders,  for  the  hull 
is  of  little  value  to  live  stock  except  as  it  lightens  the  ration 
by  increasing  its  bulk. 

239.  Methods  of  Improvement.  Some  improvement  in 
the  quality  and  yield  of  the  crop  may  be  obtained  by  cleaning 
and  grading  the  seed  grain,  sowing  only  the  heaviest  and 
best  seed.  A  considerable  increase  in  yield  will  be  obtained 
if  this  process  is  continued  from  year  to  year.  The  best  and 
most  reliable  method  for  improving  oats  and  developing  new 
strains  is  to  make  selections  of  individual  plants  or  heads, 
and  to  sow  the  seed  from  each  of  these  individuals  in  separate 
rows.  The  best  strains  can  then  be  selected  and  the  seed 
threshed  and  sown  at  a  uniform  rate  in  rows  of  a  given  length 
the  following  year,  so  as  to  obtain  a  reliable  test  of  their  yield- 
ing power.  Each  strain  should  be  threshed  by  itself  and  the 
yield  recorded  each  year,  the  best  strains  then  being  sown  on 
a  larger  scale  the  succeeding  year.  In  this  way,  pure  strains 
can  be  developed,  either  bj^  straight  selection  or  from  plants 
produced  by  hybridization.  The  production  of  oat  hybrids 
is  rather  a  difficult  process  and  is  usually  attempted  only  by 
professional  plant  breeders.  Even  the  selection  and  testing 
of  pure  strains  from  commercial  varieties  involves  too  much 
detail  to  make  it  practical  for  the  farmer. 

240.  Judging.  Some  of  the  agricultural  colleges  have 
devised  score  cards  for  the  use  of  their  classes  in  judging 
oats.  While  these  differ  in  some  minor  points,  they  are  usu- 
ally based  on  the  uniformity  of  the  sample,  the  freedom  from 
other  grains,  weed  seeds,  and  dirt,  the  odor,  the  weight  per 
bushel,  and  the  percentage  of  hull  to  kernel.     In  some  cases 


SCORE  CARD  FOR  OATS  195 

the  germination  is  taken  into  account.  A  good  example  of 
score  cards  of  this  kind  is  the  one  used  by  the  College  of 
Agriculture  of  the  University  of  Wisconsin. 

SCORE  CARD  FOR  OATS 

Trueness  to  type  or  breed  characteristics 5  points 

Uniformity  in  size  and  shape  of  kernels 10  points 

Color  of  grain 5  points 

Freedom  from  mixture  with  other  grains 5  points 

Size  of  kernel 10  points 

Per  cent  and  nature  of  weed  seed,  dirt,  and  other 

foreign  material 15  points 

Odor — musty,  smutty,  sulphur 15  points 

Weight  per  bushel 10  points 

Percentage  of  meat  to  hull 10  points 

Viability 15  points 

Total 100  points 

LABORATORY  AND  FIELD  EXERCISES 

1.  If  material  is  available  either  from  the  field  or  from  stored 
samples,  write  a  complete  description  of  the  mature  oat  plant. 

2.  Each  student  should  bring  in  a  sample  of  threshed  oats  and  care- 
fully weigh  out  a  portion  of  it.  Then  separate  the  whole  grains  from 
the  weed  seeds,  chaff,  and  broken  grains,  and  weigh  each  lot  and  figure 
the  percentage  of  good  seed.  Now  divide  the  whole  grain  into  large 
and  small  kernels  and  figure  the  percentage  of  large,  strong  grains  which 
the  sample  contains. 

3.  Take  samples  of  the  large  and  small  grains  and  make  a  germi- 
nation test.  Study  the  differences  in  the  growth  of  the  two  sets  of 
plants  carefully.  It  might  be  well  also  to  grow  small  plats  from  large 
and  small  kernels  on  the  experimental  grounds,  making  careful  note  of 
any  differences  in  vigor  of  growth. 

4.  Make  up  solutions  of  formaldehyde,  mixing  it  with  water  in  the 
proportions  of  1  to  400,  and  1  to  200.  Figure  how  many  gallons  of  water 
would  be  used  to  1  pound  (a  pint)  of  formaldehyde  at  each  of  these 
rates.     Treat  small  lots  of  seed  for  smut  in  each  of  the  following  ways: 

(1.)  No  treatment. 

(2.)  Soak  15  minutes  in  the  1  to  400  solution. 

(3.)  Soak  15  minutes  in  the  1  to  200  solution. 

(4.)  Soak  30  minutes  in  the  1  to  400  solution. 

(5.)  Soak  30  minutes  in  the  1  to  200  solution. 

(6.)  Sprinkle  till  thoroughly  wet  with  the  1  to  400  solution. 

(7.)  Sprinkle  till  thoroughly  wet  with  the  1  to  200  solution. 


196  FIELD  CROPS 

In  the  soaking  treatments,  the  seed  should  be  stirred  sufficiently  so  that 
it  is  all  thoroughly  wet.  After  it  has  been  soaked  the  required  time,  it 
should  be  drained  and  dried.  The  seed  which  is  sprinkled  should  be 
covered  with  a  heavy  cloth  over  night  and  dried  the  following  day. 
A  germination  test  should  then  be  made  of  each  sample.  Some  of  them 
will  probably  show  some  injury  from  the  treatment.  If  the  seed  is 
known  to  be  infected  with  smut  to  some  extent,  it  will  be  interesting  to 
grow  small  lots  from  the  different  samples  on  the  experimental  grounds 
and  determine  the  effectiveness  of  the  different  treatments. 

5.  Plant  lots  of  oat  grains  in  a  box  or  in  the  open  gi'ound,  covering 
them,  1,  2,  3,  and  4  inches  deep.  Determine  the  percentage  of  germi- 
nation at  each  of  the  different  depths. 

6.  Let  each  student  bring  a  sample  of  oats  from  home  and  score  it 
according  to  the  score  card  (Section  240)  or,  if  preferred,  the  card  used 
in  your  state  agricultural  college.  Write  the  reasons  for  the  markings 
given.  If  several  samples  can  be  scored  by  each  student,  so  much  the 
better.     Check  up  each  score  carefullj'. 

REFERENCES 

Cyclopedia  of  American  Agriculture,  Vol.  II,  Bailey. 

Farm  Crops,  Burkett. 

Cereals  in  America,  Hunt. 

Field  Crop  Production,  Livingston. 

Productive  Farm  Crops,  Montgomery. 

The  Small  Grains,  Carleton. 

Southern  Field  Crops,  Duggar. 

Farmers'  Bulletins: 

436.  Winter  Oats  for  the  South. 

892.  Spring  Oat  Production. 

938.  Cereal  Smuts  and  the  Disinfection  of  Seed  Grain 


CHAPTER  VI 
BARLEY 

HISTORY  AND  DESCRIPTION 

241.  Origin  and  History.  Barley  belongs  to  the  division 
of  the  grass  family  known  as  the  Genus  hordeum.  It  is 
among  the  oldest  of  cultivated  plants,  for  it  is  mentioned  in 
some  of  the  earlier  books  of  the  Bible,  and  carvings  on  the 
ancient  Egyptian  tombs  show  heads  of  this  grain.  It  was 
probably  cultivated  at  as  early  a  date  as  wheat,  and  much 
earher  than  either  oats  or  rye.  As  with  many  of  our  other 
cultivated  plants,  the  exact  place  of  origin  and  the  original 
species  are  not  now  known.  A  wild  form,  known  as  Hordeum 
spontaneum,  which  grows  in  Asia  Minor,  is  regarded  by  some 
botanists  as  the  original  type,  and  it  is  very  probable  that 
the  cultivation  of  this  grain  was  begun  in  some  portion  of 
western  Asia.  The  most  common  closely  related  species 
in  this  country  is  the  wild  barley  or  squirreltail  grass, 
Hordeum  jubatum,  one  of  the  worst  weeds  in  meadows  and 
pastures  in  the  Northwestern  prairie  states.  Barley  was 
brought  to  Massuchusetts  and  Virginia  by  the  early  colonists, 
and  has  since  ])een  generally  cultivated  in  North  America. 

242.  Botanical  Characters.  TIk^  cultivated  varieties  of 
Imrley  are  all  groujjed  by  botanists  under  a  single  species, 
Hordeum  sativum.  The  plant  makes  a  somewhat  shortei' 
growth  than  wheat  or  rye,  though  otherwise  it  is  f^uite  similar 
to  those  grains.  The  number  of  culms,  or  stems,  which  are 
produced  varies  with  the  thickness  of  the  stand,  but  may  be 
as  high  as  15  or  20  where  the  plants  have  plenty  of  room. 
The  leaves  are  broader  than  those  of  the  other  grains,  and 

197 


198  FIELD  CROPS 

are  of  a  grayish-green  color.  The  head  is  similar  to  that  of 
wheat,  consisting  of  a  spike  with  spikelets  arranged  along  a 
central  stem,  or  rachis.  The  spikelets  are  arranged  in  groups 
of  three  alternately  at  the  joints  of  the  rachis,  making  six 
rows  of  grain  from  the  top  to  the  bottom  of  the  spike.  The 
two-rowed  appearance  of  some  varieties  of  barley  is  due  to 
the  fact  that  only  the  central  one  of  the  three  spikelets  is 
fertile  and  produces  grain.  Many  of  the  varieties  are  bearded, 
or  awned;  in  some,  the  beard  is  replaced  by  a  three-forked 
appendage,  or  hood.  The  grain  is  usually  enclosed  within 
the  flowering  glume,  or  hull,  though  some  varieties  thresh 
clean  like  wheat.     It  is  either  whitish  or  bluish  black. 

243.  Classification.  Varieties  of  barley  may  be  divided 
into  classes  along  several  lines.  The  first  general  division 
into  two-rowed  and  six-rowed  forms  is  based  on  the  fertility 
or  infertility  of  the  lateral  spikelets,  as  stated  in  the  preceding 
paragraph.  Six-rowed  barley  is  of  two  general  forms,  the 
round  and  the  square,  of  which  the  square  type  is  the  more 
common.  The  former  is  the  type  usually  known  as  six- 
rowed,  while  the  square  type  is  often  spoken  of  as  four- 
rowed.  The  four-rowed  appearance  is  due  to  a  twisting  of 
the  lateral  spikelets,  so  that  the  grain  at  the  left  of  one 
group  of  spikelets  is  in  line  with  that  on  the  right  of  the  op- 
posite one,  the  two  rows  appearing  as  one.  Two  types  of 
two-rowed  barley  are  also  grown,  one  with  a  short,  broad 
head  and  the  other  with  a  long,  slender  one;  the  latter  is  the 
common  form.  Another  division  may  be  made  on  the  pres- 
ence or  absence  of  awns,  or  beards,  the  classes  then  being 
known  as  bearded  and  hooded,  or  beardless.  Still  other 
classes  are  the  common,  or  hulled,  and  the  naked,  or  hull-less, 
the  division  being  made  according  to  the  manner  in  which 
the  grain  threshes  from  the  head. 

As  with  wheat,  there  are  winter  and  spring  forms.  Win- 
ter barley  is  less  hardy  than  winter  wheat,  but  more  so  than 
winter  oats.     The  winter  varieties  usually  grown  are  of  the 


CLASSIFICATION  OF  BARLEY  199 

six-rowed  bearded  hulled  type,  though  almost  any  variety 
will  survive  the  winter  in  the  milder  portions  of  the  South. 
The  cultivation  of  winter  barley  is  mostly  confined  to  the 


Figure  7.3. — Grains  of  six-rowed  (on  the  left)  and  two-rowed  (on  the  right) 
barley.  The  grains  in  the  lateral  spikelets  of  six-rowed  barley  are  com- 
pressed as  shown;  there  should  be  twice  as  many  of  these  compressed 
grains  as  of  fully  developed  ones  in  a  sample  of  this  type.  Note  that 
there  are  no  compressed  grains  in  the  two-rowed  barley. 

Southern  and  Pacific  states.  Most  of  the  barley  sown  in 
the  spring  in  the  Northern  states  is  of  the  two-rowed  and  six- 
rowed  bearded  hulled  types;  in  the  irrigated  states  in  the 
Rocky  Mountain  region  the  six-rowed  bearded  hull-less 
is  grown.    There  are  other  types,  however,  which  are  less 


200 


FIELD  CIWPS 


Figure  76. — Six-roweil  beunKd,  twn-rnwed  bearded,  and  six-rowed  hooded  barley. 


IMPORTANCE  OF  BARLEY  201 

commonly  grown,  such  as  the  hull-less  six-rowed  beardless, 
the  hulled  six-rowed  hooded,  the  hull-less  two-rowed  bearded, 
and  the  hulled  two-rowed  hooded. 

244.  Leading  Varieties.  The  type  which  is  generally 
grown  in  Wisconsin,  Minnesota,  Iowa,  and  the  Dakotas, 
the  area  of  largest  production,  is  the  common,  or  hulled  six- 
rowed  bearded,  the  most  popular  varieties  being  Manchuria 
and  Oderbrucker.  This  type  is  also  grown  in  New  York 
and  the  other  Eastern  states.  The  most  common  varieties 
in  California  are  the  Bay  Brewing  and  the  California  Feed. 
In  the  Rocky  Mountain  region,  particularly  at  high  altitudes, 
the  hooded  hull-less  type  is  most  prevalent,  though  some 
hooded  hulled  barley  is  grown.  Varietal  names  in  the 
hull-less  barlej^s  are  largely  based  on  the  color  of  the  grain 
as  White  Hull-less  and  Black  Hull-less.  This  type  of  barley 
weighs  60  pounds  to  the  bushel,  while  the  legal  weight  of  a 
bushel  of  hulled,  or  common,  barley  is  established  at  only 
48  pounds  in  most  of  the  states. 

IMPORTANCE  OF  THE  CROP 

245.  World  Production.  The  production  of  barley,  like 
that  of  wheat  and  oats,  is  largely  confined  to  the  North 
Temperate  zone.  The  total  production  of  the  world  is 
about  1,500,000,000  bushels  as  compared  with  about  4,000,- 
000,000  bushels  each  of  corn,  wheat,  and  oats.  The  leading 
country  in  barley  production  is  European  Russia,  with  an 
average  annual  yield  of  452,719,000  bushels  for  the  five  years 
from  1910  to  1914.  This  is  nearly  one  third  of  the  total 
production  of  the  world.  Other  countries  in  which  the  pro- 
duction is  large  are  the  United  States,  with  186,000,000 
bushels  annually;  Germany,  153,000,000  bushels;  Austria- 
Hungary,  148,000,000  bushels;  Japan,  94,000,000  bushels; 
Spain,  73,000,000  bushels;  Great  Britain  and  Ireland,  64,000,- 
000  bushels;  France,  47,000,000 bushels;  and  Canada,  44,000,- 
000  bushels. 


202  FIELD  CROPS 

246.  Production  in  the  United  States.  Barley  is  ninth 
in  value  among  our  field  crops,  ranking  below  corn,  cotton, 
wheat,  hay,  oats,  potatoes,  sugar,  and  tobacco.  It  is  fourth 
among  the  cereals,  following  corn,  wheat,  and  oats,  and  rank- 
ing above  rice  and  rye.  The  average  area  devoted  to  barley 
in  the  United  States  during  the  ten  years  from  1908  to  1917 
was  7,605,000  acres.  During  this  period  the  mean  yield 
was  25.1  bushels  to  the  acre;  the  average  annual  production, 

CALIF,    —^^^^^—i^^^—ii^^^^—i^^^^^  19.5% 

MINN,  mmm^m^imt^^m^mm^^^m^am^mam  17.6% 
N.  DAK.  ma^^^^^^m^^mmm^mim  13.1% 

WIS.        ^i^— ii^^^— ■  11.3% 

s.  DAK.  tm^^^m^^mm^^^  io.4% 

IOWA 
WASH. 

IDAHO  

All  Others  ^^■^^■^^■^■■■■■■■■^■■IS.  5% 

Figure  77. — Graph  showing  the  percentage  of  the  total  barley  crop  of  the  United 
States  produced  in  the  eight  states  of  largest  production  in  the  ten  years  from 
1908  to  1917,  inclusive. 

189,129,000  bushels  and  the  average  annual  farm  value, 
$125,659,000.  The  leading  states  in  barley  production  are 
California,  Minnesota,  North  Dakota,  Wisconsin,  and  South 
Dakota.  The  average  annual  acreage,  production,  and  value 
of  the  barley  crop  in  the  ten  states  of  largest  production, 
for  the  ten  years  from  1908  to  1917,  are  shown  in  Table  XI, 
while  the  proportion  of  the  total  crop  of  the  United  States 
produced  in  the  more  important  states  is  graphically  shown 
in  Figure  77, 

As  shown  by  the  table  and  the  accompanying  diagram, 
the  greater  portion  of  the  barley  crop  is  produced  in  Califor- 
nia and  in  the  upper  Mississippi  Valley.  In  California,  bar- 
ley is  most  largely  grown  in  the  San  Joaquin  and  Sacramento 
valleys.  Southern  Wisconsin,  southern  Minnesota,  northern 
Iowa,  eastern  North  and  South  Dakota,  and  eastern  Wash- 
ington are  other  sections  of  importance  in  the  production 
of  this  crop.  California  produces  more  than  one  fifth  of 
the  barley  of  the  entire  country,  while  Minnesota,  Wisconsin, 


PRODUCTION  OF  B Ah' LEY 


203 


and  the  Dakotas  grow  about  two  thirds  of  the  remainder,  or 
more  than  half  of  the  entire  crop.  The  highest  yields  to  the 
acre  are  obtained  in  the  Rocky  Mountain  section  and  in  the 
Pacific  Northwest.  The  average  yield  in  Utah  for  the  ten 
years  from  1908  to  1917  was  40.8  bushels;  in  Idaho,  38.8 

Table  XI.  The  average  annual  acreage,  production,  farm  value, 
and  yield  per  acre  of  barley  in  the  ten  leading  states  during  the  ten 
years  from  1908  to  1917,  inclusive. 


State 

Acreage 

Yield 
per  acre 

Production 

Farm  value 
Dec.  1. 

California 

Minnesota 

North  Dakota. . 

Wisconsin 

South  Dakota . . 

Iowa 

Washington 

Idaho 

.4  cres 

1,308,000 
1,384,000 
1,281,000 
749,000 
928,000 
418,000 
177,000 
142,000 
283,000 
112,000 
823,000 

Acres 

28.1 
24.0 
19.5 
28.9 
21.7 
27.8 
37.0 
38.8 
17.2 
33.0 
25.2 

Bushels 

36,958,000 

33,272,000 

24,825,000 

21,452,000 

19,729,000 

11,446,000 

6,554,000 

5,448,000 

4,892,000 

3,723,000 

20,790,000 

Dollars 

27,992,000 

20,946,000 

13,688,000 

15,440,000 

11,580,000 

7,429,00:) 

4,223,000 

3,440,000 

Kansas 

Oregon 

All  others 

2,968,000 

2,637,000 

15,316,000 

United  States .  . 

7,605,000 

25.1 

189,129,000 

125,659,000 

bushels;  and  in  Washington,  37.0  bushels.  In  comparison 
with  these  figures,  the  average  yield  to  the  acre  in  Cali- 
fornia was  28.1  bushels;  in  Minnesota,  24.0  bushels;  and  in 
Wisconsin,  28.9  bushels. 

^a^mimmmammtmmmmi^mi^^^  ii.5%. 


CAU. 
MINN. 
N.  DAK. 
WIS. 
S.  DAE. 
IOWA 
WASH* 
IDAHO 
U.  S. 


6.3% 
6.3% 


5.9% 


1.4% 


5.1% 


1.6% 


Figure  78. — Graph   showing  percentage  of  improved  farm  land  annually  sown  to 
barley  in  the  states  of  largest  production  and  in  the  United  States,  1908-1917. 

Barley  occupies  a  more  important  position  in  California 
than  in  any  other  state,  11.5  per  cent  of  the  improved  farm 
land  being  sown  to  this  crop,  as  shown  in  the  accompanying 


204  FIELD  CROPS 

diagram  (Figure  78).  It  ranks  next  in  importance  in  Min- 
nesota, occupying  about  one  fourteenth  of  the  improved 
farm  area,  or  nearly  half  as  much  land  as  is  annually  sown  to 
oats  in  that  state.  In  Wisconsin,  the  area  sown  to  oats  is 
about  three  times  as  large  as  that  sown  to  barley.  Only  1.6 
per  cent  of  the  entire  farm  area  of  the  United  States  is  de- 
voted to  barley,  as  compared  with  22.1  per  cent  to  corn,  10.4 
per  cent  to  wheat,  and  8.0  per  cent  to  oats. 

THE  PRODUCTION  OF  THE  CROP 

247.  Soils  Adapted  to  Barley  Production.  The  best  soil 
for  barley  is  a  well-drained  loam.  Good  drainage  and  a 
reasonably  fertile  soil  are  essential  to  its  successful  growth. 
It  does  not  ordinarily  do  well  on  heavy  clays  nor  on  hght, 
sandy  lands.  It  is  extensively  grown  on  soils  of  a  volcanic 
origin  in  the  Northwest.  Barley  grows  better  on  alkali  soils 
than  any  of  the  other  small  grains,  and  is  sometimes  used 
to  reduce  the  quantity  of  soluble  salts  in  the  soil  before  sow- 
ing to  oats,  alfalfa,  or  some  other  crop  which  is  less  resistant 
to  the  injurious  effects  of  these  salts. 

248.  Fertilizers  and  Manures.  The  best  fertihzer  for 
barley  is  barnyard  manure,  particularly  if  this  is  applied  to 
some  previous  crop  or  is  well-rotted.  Barley  can  be  grown 
successfully  on  richer  land  than  oats,  but  heavy  fertilization 
is  likely  to  cause  a  rank  growth  of  straw  with  a  tendency  to 
lodge.  As  the  roots  of  this  crop  do  not  penetrate  as  deeph^ 
as  those  of  oats  or  wheat,  the  surface  soil  should  contain  an 
abundance  of  plant  food.  The  yield  of  barley  may  be  in- 
creased by  the  use  of  green  manure  crops,  such  as  cowpeas, 
field  peas,  and  the  like,  which  add  greatly  to  the  vegetable 
matter  in  the  soil,  increasing  the  water-holding  capacity 
and  the  supply  of  readily  available  plant  food.  On  poor 
soils  where  neither  barnyard  nor  green  manures  are  available, 
beneficial  results  will  be  obtained  from  the  use  of  commercial 
fertilizers.     The  many  feeding  roots  which  barley  throws 


PREPARATION  OF  LAND  FOR  BARLEY  205 

out  near  the  surface  enable  it  to  use  commercial  fertilizers 
quickly  and  to  good  advantage.  The  proper  fertilizers  to 
use  depend  largely  on  the  soil  to  which  they  are  applied. 
Phosphorus  and  potash  are  usually  more  necessary  than 
nitrogen  for  the  highest  yields  of  barley.  . 


IM  i  M  Ml 
H  M  It  M 

M  (   (   •  I  M 


Figure  79. — Barley  grains;  upper  row,  six-rowed  hulled;  center  row,  two-rowed 
hulled;  lower  row,  hull-less  or  naked. 

249.  Preparation  of  the  Land.  A  well-prepared  seed  bed 
is  essential  to  the  best  growth  of  this  crop.  Fall  plowing  is 
desirable  wherever  possible,  for  fall-plowed  land  usually 
holds  moisture  better  the  following  spring  and  can  be  put 
in  shape  for  seeding  at  an  earlier  date  than  spring  plowing. 
Sowing  barley  on  land  that  has  been  disked  and  not  plowed 
is  fairly  successful  when  a  cultivated  crop  was  grown  on  the 
land  the  previous  year,  but  this  method  is  not  so  generally 
followed  as  with  oats,  while  the  results  which  are  obtained 
are  not  usually  as  good.     For  winter  barley,  plowing  should 


206  FIELD  CROPS 

be  done  some  weeks  previous  to  seeding,  in  order  to  allow 
the  ground  to  become  thoroughly  settled.  Where  winter 
barley  follows  cowpeas  cut  for  hay,  a  good  seed  bed  can  be 
prepared  by  disking  and  harrowing  without  plowing.  The 
essential  thing  is  to  have  the  surface  soil  fine  and  mellow 
and  the  subsoil  firm. 

250.  Preparing  the  Seed  for  Sowing.  Thorough  grad- 
ing and  cleaning  of  the  seed  is  particularly  essential  to  success 
in  barley  culture.  These  precautions  are  more  necessary 
with  the  six-rowed  varieties  than  with  the  two-rowed,  since 
the  lateral  grains  of  the  six-rowed  are  often  much  smaller  than 
the  median  ones  and  are  not  fully  developed.  Only  the 
largest  and  plumpest  seed  should  be  sown,  to  obtain  quick 
germination,  strong  growth,  and  an  even  stand.  Evenness 
in  ripening  is  necessary  to  produce  market  barley  of  uniform 
quality,  and  careful  grading  is  a  means  toward  this  end. 
Freedom  from  weed  seeds  is  also  very  desirable,  for  weeds  in 
the  crop  retard  its  growth,  make  it  more  difficult  to  cure 
properly,  and  injure  its  market  value. 

The  formaldehyde  treatment  recommended  for  the  cov- 
ered smut  (bunt)  of  wheat' and  for  oat  smut  (Section  196,  c) 
is  effective  in  controlling  covered  smut  of  barley.  Loose 
smut  of  barley  is  not  killed  by  formaldehyde-  but  can  be  kept 
in  check  by  the  hot  water  treatment  decribed  for  the  loose 
smut  of  wheat  (Section  196,  c). 

251.  Sowing  the  Seed.  Barley  is  usually  sown  with  the 
grain  drill  at  the  rate  of  from  6  to  8  pecks  to  the  acre.  In 
the  drier  sections,  the  best  quantity  to  sow  may  be  as  low  as 
4  pecks.  Broadcast  seeding  usually  produces  much  lower 
yields  than  drilling,  and  is  not  to  be  recommended  where  it  is 
possible  to  use  the  drill.  Hull-less  barley  is  sown  at  the  rate 
of  from  4  to  6  pecks  to  the  acre.  The  usual  date  of  seeding 
is  slightly  later  than  for  oats,  varying  from  the  latter  part  of 
March  and  the  first  week  of  April  in  Kansas,  through  the 
second  and  third  weeks  of  April  in  Iowa,  Nebraska,  and 


HARVESTING  BARLEY  207 

Illinois,  and  extending  to  the  last  week  of  April  and  the  first 
half  of  May  in  Wisconsin,  Minnesota,  and  the  Dakotas. 
Winter  barley  is  usually  sown  in  September  or  early  October. 
The  proper  depth  for  seeding  varies  somewhat  with  the  con- 
dition of  the  soil,  but  is  about  2  or  3  inches. 

252.  Harrowing.  Barley,  like  the  other  small  grains,  is 
seldom  cultivated  in  any  way.  Beneficial  results  are  some- 
times obtained  from  cultivating  drilled  barley  with  the  har- 
row or  the  weeder,  running  these  tools  parallel  to  the  drill 
rows.  This  serves  to  break  the  crust  which  is  likely  to  form 
on  the  surface,  lessens  evaporation,  and  helps  to  keep  down 
weeds.  Harrowing  is  especially  beneficial  in  dry  seasons  or 
in  sections  of  slight  rainfall. 

253.  Irrigation.  A  large  part  of  the  barley  produced  in 
the  Rocky  Mountain  states  is  irrigated.  The  number  of 
irrigations  and  the  depth  of  water  to  be  applied  varies  with 
different  soils  and  seasons;  but  best  results  are  usually  ob- 
tained from  two  irrigations,  the  first  about  the  time  the 
heads  begin  to  show,  and  the  second  when  the  grain  is  filling. 
The  total  depth  of  water  applied  usually  does  not  exceed  1 
foot,  though  more  may  be  necessary  in  sections  where  the 
rainfall  is  particularly  deficient. 

HARVESTING  THE  CROP 

254.  Cutting  and  Shocking.  As  the  appearance  of  the 
grain  largely  governs  the  market  value  of  barley,  it  should 
be  carefully  harvested  and  stored.  The  proper  time  to  cut 
this  crop  is  when  the  grain  is  in  the  hard  dough  stage.  If  cut 
earlier,  the  quality  is  injured  by  shrinking,  while,  if  cut  later, 
part  of  the  crop  will  be  lost  from  shattering.  The  usual 
method  of  cutting  is  with  the  binder,  though  the  header  and 
the  combined  harvester  are  sometimes  used  in  the  dry  sec- 
tions of  the  Pacific  and  Rocky  Mountain  states.  After 
the  bundles  have  dried  out  somewhat,  they  should  be  set  up 
in  good  shocks  and  carefully  capped  to  protect  as  much  of 


208  FIELD  CROPS 

the  grain  as  possible  from  injury  by  bad  weather.  Long 
shocks  are  somewhat  preferable  to  round  ones,  as  they  allow 
better  circulation  of  air.  After  the  grain  is  cured  in  the 
shock,  in  ten  daj^s  or  two  weeks  after  cutting,  it  should  be 
stacked  until  threshing  time.  The  harvesting  of  spring- 
sown  barley  begins  in  Kansas  and  other  states  similarly 
located  about  July  1,  and  is  general  in  Wisconsin  and  Minne- 
sota about  August  1. 

255.  Threshing.  Threshing  barley  from  the  shock  is  a 
risky  method,  for  the  grain  is  very  likely  to  be  injured  by  the 
weather  before  it  is  threshed.  When  grain  of  the  best  quaUty 
is  wanted  for  market,  it  is  advisable  to  stack  and  thresh  the 
cap  bundles  separate  from  the  remainder  of  the  crop.  The 
discolored  grain  in  these  bundles  can  then  be  used  for  feed 
or  can  be  sold  by  itself  without  injuring  the  market  value  of 
the  entire  crop.  In  sections  where  there  is  no  danger  of 
rain  during  the  harvest  season,  threshing  from  the  shock 
is  the  common  practice.  Cracking  the  grain  in  the  thresher 
should  be  guarded  against,  as  cracked  kernels  lower  the  mar- 
ket value.  Special  care  should  be  given  to  the  work  of 
separation  in  threshing,  so  as  to  remove  as  much  of  the  dirt 
and  weed  seeds  as  possible. 

256.  Storing  the  Grain.  Damp,  musty  bins  should  be 
avoided  in  storing  barley,  for  odor  and  appearance  are  im- 
portant factors  in  the  market  value  of  the  grain.  If  the  grain 
is  damp  when  threshed  or  becomes  damp  in  the  bin,  it  should 
be  shoveled  over  several  times  to  dry  it  out.  Where  there 
is  danger  of  injurj^  from  grain  moths  or  other  insects,  tight 
bins  which  can  be  fumigated  should  be  provided. 

MARKETING  AND  RETURNS 

257.  Marketing  and  Market  Grades.  A  considerable 
part,  probably  as  much  as  two  thirds,  of  the  barley  crop  goes 
to  market.  The  market  grades  of  this  grain  are  based  very 
largely  on  color,  uniformity,  appearance,  and  odor,  and  on 


BARLEY  EXPORTS  AI^'D  IMPORTS 


209 


the  strength  and  uniformity  of  germination.  Material  dif- 
ferences in  price  are  made  between  the  grades,  and  the  farmer 
is  usually  well  paid  for  care  in  handling  the  grain  from  the 
time  it  is  harvested  till  it  is  delivered  to  the  elevator.  Ac- 
cording to  the  official  classification,  the  market  grades  of 
barley  are  Nos.  1,  2,  3,  and  4,  No.  1  feed,  and  rejected.  No. 
1  barley  "shall  be  sound,  plump,  bright,  clean,  and  free 
from  other  grain,  not  scoured  nor  clipped,  and  shall^  weigh 
not  less  than  48  pounds  to  the  measured  bushel."  The 
other  grades  are  relatively  lower  in  quality  and  weight  per 
bushel.  On  the  Pacific  Coast  there  are  four  special  classes, 
with  grades  of  Nos.  1,  2,  and  3  in  each,  based  on  the  variety 
of  which  the  sample  is  composed,  either  wholly  or  in  part. 
These  are  Bay  Brewing  and  Bay  Brewing  mixed,  Chevalier 
and  Chevalier  mixed. 

258.  Exports  and  Imports.  The  average  exports  of  bar- 
ley from  the  United  States  for  the  five  years  from  1913  to 
1917  were  16,958,000  bushels  out  of  a  crop  sUghtly  over 
200,000,000  bushels.  The  exports  went  to  England,  Aus- 
tralia, and  other  countries,  for  the  production  of  malt  and 
for  other  uses. 

259.  Prices  and  Acre  Value.  The  average  farm  price  of 
barley  on  December  1  for  the  entire  United  States  for  the  ten 
years  from  1908  to  1917  was  66.7  cents.  In  California,  the 
state  of  largest  production,  it  was  76  cents,  while  in  Minnesota 
and  North  Dakota,  which  rank  next  in  order  of  production, 
the  average  prices  per  bushel  were  only  64  and  57  cents,  re- 
spectively. The  high  price  in  California  is  due  largely  to 
the  scarcity  of  other  grain,  while  the  lower  price  in  the 
other  states  mentioned  is  due  to  the  plentiful  supply  of 
wheat  and  oats  which  is  there  produced. 

The  average  value  of  the  grain  from  an  acre  of  barley  for 
the  five  years  from  1913  to  1917  was  $18.18  for  the  entire 
United  States.  For  California,  $22.95  was  the  acre  value; 
for  Minnesota,  $17.03;  and  for  North  Dakota,  $11.17.     The 


14- 


210  FIELD  CROPS 

highest  acre  value  is  that  recorded  for  Nevada,  $36.33;  and 
the  lowest,  that  for  Kansas,  $10.56.  In  general,  the  higher 
acre  values  are  found  in  the  New  England,  Rocky  Mountain, 
and  Pacific  states,  and  the  lower  in  the  Central  and  Southern 
states. 

260.  Cost  of  Production.  The  reports  of  about  two 
hundred  correspondents  of  the  Bureau  of  Crop  Estimates  as 
reported  in  the  Crop  Reporter  for  October,  1911,  show  that 
the  average  cost  of  producing  an  acre  of  barley  in  1909  in 
the  United  States  was  $10.05,  divided  as  follows:  preparing 
ground,  $1.84;  seed,  $1.14;  sowing,  46  cents;  harvesting, 
$1.28;  preparing  for  market,  $1.50;  rental  value  of  land, 
$3.17;  other  items,  66  cents.  As  the  average  value  of  an 
acre  of  barley  that  year  was  $12.15,  the  crop  shows  a  net 
return  of  $2.10  an  acre  for  the  grain  alone.  In  California, 
the  average  cost  was  $10.46,  with  a  value  of  $16.35;  Minne- 
sota, $9.43,  value  $10.43;  and  Wisconsin,  $12.49,  value 
$15.18.  The  cost  of  a  bushel  of  grain  averaged  36.4  cents  for 
the  entire  United  States,  31.7  cents  for  California,  37.7  cents 
for  Minnesota,  and  41.6  cents  for  Wisconsin.  As  with  other 
crops,  production  costs  are  now  (1918)  much  higher. 

RELATION  TO  OTHER  CROPS 

261.  Place  in  the  Rotation.  In  the  Mississippi  Valley 
states,  barley  occupies  about  the  same  place  in  the  rota- 
tion as  oats;  that  is,  it  usually  follows  corn  and  precedes  the 
grass  crop.  As  with  other  grain  crops,  the  heaviest  yields  are 
usually  obtained  when  barley  is  grown  after  corn,  potatoes, 
or  some  other  cultivated  crop.  Excellent  results  are  also 
obtained  when  it  follows  a  leguminous  crop,  such  as  field 
peas  in  the  North  and  cowpeas  in  the  South.  !Barley  yields 
better  after  corn  than  after  oats,  when  these  three  crops  are 
grown  in  a  rotation. 

262.  Use  as  a  Nurse  and  Smother  Crop.  On  account 
of  its  early  maturity  and  the  fact  that  it  draws  rather  lightly 


USES  OF  BARLEY  211 

on  the  soil  moisture,  barley  is  an  excellent  nurse  crop  to  use 
when  seeding  down  to  grass  or  clover.  Its  early  maturity 
also  makes  it  of  value  in  clearing  weedy  land,  since  it  can  be 
cut  before  many  weeds  mature  their  seeds.  It  is  of  less  value 
as  a  smother  crop  than  oats,  as  it  makes  less  shade. 

263.  Sowing  with  Other  Grains.  As  noted  elsewhere 
(Section  232),  barley  and  oats  are  frequently  sown  together 
for  the  production  of  feed  grain.  The  largest  yields  are  ob- 
tained when  about  1  bushel  of  each  grain  is  sown  to  the  acre, 
using  a  medium  late  variety  of  barley  and  an  early  Variety  of 
oats,  so  that  the  two  grains  will  ripen  together.  The  yields 
from  these  grain  mixtures,  which  are  quite  commonly  grown 
in  Ontario  and  other  portions  of  Canada  and  to  a  lesser  ex- 
tent in  the  northern  United  States,  are  larger  than  those  from 
either  crop  when  sown  alone. 

THE  USES  OF  BARLEY 

264.  The  Manufacture  of  Malt.  About  one  fourth  of  the 
barley  crop  of  the  United  States  is  normally  used  in  the 
manufacture  of  malt,  which  is  largely  used  in  the  production 
of  beer  and  other  malt  liquors.  Malt  is  produced  by  ex- 
tracting the  starch  from  the  grain  after  it  has  been  changed 
in  form  by  the  germination  process,  the  grain  being  placed 
in  vats  or  tanks  where  it  is  moistened  and  heated  sufficiently 
to  induce  rapid  germination.  Oats,  rice,  and  wheat  are  also 
used  to  produce  malt,  but  barley  is  much  preferred  by  malt- 
sters and  is  most  largely  used.  Brewing,  or  malting,  barley 
should  be  clean  and  bright  in  color,  free  from  other  grains, 
weed  seeds,  and  broken  grains,  and  of  high  germinating  power. 
Broken  grains  or  those  which  will  not  germinate  are  objec- 
tionable, because  they  mold  in  the  germinating  tanks  and 
the  mold  is  communicated  to  the  healthy  grains. 

265.  Feeding  to  Stock.  Barley,  either  whole  or  ground 
into  meal,  is  quite  largely  used  for  feeding  to  stock.  In  the 
Mississippi  Valley  it  is  most  largely  used  for  feeding  to  hogs, 


212  FIELD  CROPS! 

as  it  produces  pork  of  very  high  quaUty.  It  is  also  useful 
for  fattening  sheep  and  for  feeding  to  dairy  cows  and  poultry. 
It  is  not  often  fed  to  horses  in  this  section,  ]>ut  in  the  Pacific 
states  it  is  a  standard  feed  for  this  class  of  animals.  The 
feeding  value  of  barley  is  about  the  same  as  that  of  corn. 

266.  Use  as  Human  Food.  This  grain  is  normally  little 
used  as  human  food  in  the  United  States,  though  in  some 
portions  of  Europe  it  is  commonly  made  into  bread.  In 
America,  it  is  principally  used  as  pearl  barley  for  soups  and 
as  a  cereal  breakfast  food.  Pearl  barley  is  the  kernel  from 
which  the  hull  has  been  removed.  During  war  conditions 
and  the  need  for  conserving  wheat,  barley  flour  has  been 
extensively  used  as  a  wheat  substitute. 

267.  Use  of  the  By-Products.  Barley  straw,  the  by- 
product of  grain  production,  is  generally  fed  to  animals  or 
used  as  bedding.  As  most  of  the  barley  which  is  produced 
in  this  country  is  bearded  and  these  beards  cannot  be  sepa- 
rated from  the  straw,  barley  straw  is  less  palatable  than  that 
of  oats  or  beardless  wheat.  It  is  also  less  nutritious  than 
wheat  straw.  As  bedding,  it  is  said  to  be  slightly  better 
as  an  absorbent  of  liquids  than  oat  straw.  It  is  also  a  little 
higher  in  fertilizing  value  than  oat  straw. 

The  by-products  of  the  malting  industry,  malt  sprouts 
and  brewers'  grains,  are  largely  used  for  stock  feed  in  the 
vicinity  of  malt  houses,  either  in  the  wet  or  the  dried  state. 
The  dried  sprouts  and  brewers'  grains  are  more  pleasant 
to  handle,  and  are  generally  l^etter  for  feeding.  Malt  sprouts 
are  the  sprouts  produced  during  germination,  which  are 
l)roken  off  before  the  soluble  starch  compounds  are  extracted. 
They  are  high  in  protein  and  are  a  very  good  feed,  par- 
ticularly for  dairy  cows.  Brewers'  grains  are  the  barley  or 
other  grains  from  which  the  soluble  starch  has  been  ex- 
tracted. Since  they  contain  much  of  the  protein  of  the 
original  grain,  they  are  high  in  feeding  value.  Like  malt 
sprouts,  they  are  largely  fed  to  dairy  cows.     Both  these  feeds 


INSECTS  AND  DISEASES  213 

can  usually  be  purchased  at  reasonable  prices,  and  can  be 
used  with  profit  where  they  are  readil}^  obtainable. 

268.  Barley  for  Hay  and  Pasture.  Barley  is  not  often 
used  as  a  hay  crop  except  in  the  West  and  South.  The 
bearded  kinds  should  be  cut  while  the  beards  are  still  soft, 
or  they  will  cause  injury  to  the  mouths  of  animals  to  which 
the  hay  is  fed.  The  beardless  varieties  are  to  be  preferred 
for  hay  production  in  the  region  to  which  they  are  adapted. 
Beardless  barley  is  now  ])eing  grown  to  some  extent  in  the 
South  as  a  hay  and  pasture  crop,  though  conditions  are  not 
favorable  for  the  production  of  grain.  Barley  hay  is  high 
in  feeding  value,  and,  if  cut  at  the  right  stage,  is  rehshed  by 
stock.  Winter  barley  makes  excellent  pasture  for  stock  of 
all  kinds  both  in  the  fall  and  the  spring  within  the  region  to 
which  it  is  adapted.  Spring  barley  also  produces  nutritious 
early  spring  pasture,  and  is  sometimes  sown  for  this  purpose, 
particularly  for  hogs  and  sheep. 

INSECTS  AND  DISEASES 

269.  Insect  Enemies.  The  insects  which  are  most 
troublesome  in  growing  barley  are  the  chinch  bug,  Hessian 
fly,  and  spring  grain  aphis.      See  Sections  196  and  228. 

The  most  destructive  insects  in  stored  barley  are  the 
grain  weevil  and  the  Angoumois  grain  moth.  The  most 
effective  way  of  preventing  damage  from  weevils  and  moths 
is  to  store  the  grain  in  tight  bins  and  fumigate  occasionally 
with  carbon  bisulphide. 

270.  Diseases.  The  most  injurious  diseases  of  barley 
are  the  rusts  and  smuts.  The  two  kinds  of  rust  and  two 
kinds  of  smut  on  barley  are  quite  similar  to  the  correspond- 
ing diseases  on  wheat.  Covered  smut  may  be  destroyed 
by  treating  with  the  formaldehyde  solution  and  loose  smut 
by  the  hot  water  treatment  (Section  195).  These  diseases 
are  frequently  quite  destructive,  and  the  annual  production 
of  barley  is  materially  decreased  by  loss  from  smut. 


214 


VJELB  CROPSI 


Leaf  rust  and  stem  rust  also  do  considerable  damage,  par- 
ticularly in  seasons  favorable  to  their  development.  The 
planting  of  early  maturing  varieties  which  ripen  before  rust 
ordinarily  becomes  prevalent,  and  the  use  of  well-drained 
land  for  producing  this  crop  are  recommended  as  preven- 
tives of  rust  injury.     Powdery  mildew  sometimes  occurs  on 

barley,  but  it  usually 
does  little  damage. 

IMPROVEMENT  OF  THE 
CROP 

271.  Opportunities 
for  Improvement.  Barley 
can  be  improved  by  in- 
creasing the  yield,  by  in- 
creasing  the  size  and 
plumpness  of  the  indi- 
vidual grains,  and  in  other 
ways.  For  malting,  a  low 
protein  content  and  a 
high  proportion  of  starch 
are  desired ;  while  for  feed- 
ing a  high  protein  content 
is  wanted.  It  is  possible  to 
produce  strains  by  selec- 
tion which  are  relatively 
high  or  low  in  protein, 
but  this  requires  much 
careful  work  and  can 
hardly  be  undertaken  ex- 
cept by  professional  plant 
breeders. 

272.  Methods  of  Improvement.  The  methods  of  improv- 
ing barley  are  not  different  from  those  practiced  with  wheat 
(Section  198)  and  oats  (Section  239).     Grading  the  grain 


Figure  77 — Smutted  heads  of  barley.  The 
three  upper  ones,  covered  smut;  the  two 
lower,  loose  smut. 


IMPROVEMENT  OF  BARLEY  215 

and  sowing  only  the  heaviest  and  plumpest  kernels  will 
eventually  improve  the  yield  and  quality  of  the  crop.  The 
selection  of  good  heads  from  the  field,  using  the  seeds  from 
them  to  sow  a  seed  plat  from  which  all  plants  not  of  uniform 
type  are  removed  before  harvest,  and  increasing  this  seed 
until  enough  is  produced  to  plant  the  main  crop,  will  mate- 
rially improve  the  quahty,  yield,  and  uniformity  of  the  crop. 
New  varieties  may  be  produced  by  the  selection  of  specially 
good  individual  plants  and  by  hybridization. 

273.  Judging.  The  excellence  of  a  sample  of  barley  is 
determined  largely  on  its  uniformity,  its  freedom  from  broken 
grains,  weed  seeds  and  other  foreign  matter,  its  condition, 
and  its  weight  per  bushel.  Germination  is  also  a  factor 
which  is  usually  considered. 

The  following  score  card  is  used  by  the  College  of  Agri- 
culture of  the  University  of  Nebraska: 

SCORE  CARD  FOR  BARLEY 

Uniformity 

Color 20  points 

Texture 20  points 

Size 10  points 

Quality- 
Weight  per  bushel 15  points 

Injury  in  threshing 10  points 

Sprouted,  bin-burnt,  decayed,  etc 15  points 

Foreign  matter 10  points 

Total 100  points 

LABORATORY  AND  FIELD  EXERCISES 

1.  Have  each  student  make  a  study  of  the  barley  plant  and  write  a 
description  of  it.  If  several  widely  different  varieties  can  be  used  for 
this  work,  and  their  differences  and  similarities  l^rought  out,  the  value 
of  the  study  will  be  greatly  increased. 

2.  Make  studies  of  samples  of  thrashed  barley  to  determine  whether 
they  are  two-rowed  or  six-rowed.  The  six-rowed  samples  will  contain 
approximately  twice  as  many  compressed  or  twisted  grains  as  fully 
developed  ones,  due  to  the  manner  in  which  the  lateral  grains  in  the 
spikelets  press  against  one  another  (See  Figure  71).  Pure  samples  of  two- 


216  FIELD  CROPS 

rowed  barley  will  contain  none  of  these  compressed  grains.  Mix 
together  lots  of  two-rowed  and  six-rowed  barley  which  are  similar  in 
appearance  and  let  the  class  determine  about  what  proportion  of  each 
was  used  in  the  mixture. 

3.  Make  germination  tests  of  samples  of  barley.  If  desired,  the 
strength  of  germination  of  the  medium  and  lateral  grains  of  six-rowed 
barley  may  be  compared. 

4.  Examine  samples  of  barley  and  determine  what  percentage  is 
pure  grain  and  what  trash  and  weed  seeds. 

5.  Test  planting  at  different  depths,  noting  differences  in  germi- 
nation and  growth. 

6.  Devote  considerable  time  to  practice  in  scoring  and  judging 
samples  of  barley. 

REFERENCES 

Cyclopedia  of  American  Agriculture,  Vol.  II,  Bailey. 

Farm  Crops,  Burkett. 

Cereals  in  America,  Hunt. 

Farmers'  Cyclopedia  of  Agriculture,  Wilcox  and  Smith. 

The  Small  Grains,  Carleton. 

Southern  Field  Crops,  Duggar. 

Field  Crop  Production,  Livingston. 

Productive  Farm  Crops,  Montgomery. 

Farmers'  Bulletins: 

443.  Barley:     Growing  the  Crop. 

518.  Winter  Barley. 
Department  Bulletins : 

622.  Identification  of  Varieties  of  Barley. 


CHAPTER  VII 
RYE 

274.  Origin.  Rye  has  been  cultivated  only  in  com- 
paratively recent  times,  for  it  was  not  known  among  the 
Greeks  and  Romans.  It  probably  grew  originally  in  western 
Asia  and  southeastern  Europe,  as  several  species  of  wild  rye, 
any  one  of  which  may  be  the  parent  of  the  cultivated  type, 
are  still  found  there. 

275.  Description.  Rye  is  quite  closely  related  to  wheat, 
and  its  manner  of  growth  is  much  the  same.  The  straw  is 
longer  and  more  wiry,  and  the  heads  are  more  slender  and 
are  always  bearded.  Unhke  wheat  and  the  other  small 
grains,  rye  cross-fertilizes  freely,  which  fact  is  probably 
the  reason  why  so  few  distinct  varieties  have  been  developed. 
It  is  a  comparatively  easy  matter  to  maintain  a  pure  stock 
of  wheat,  oats,  or  barley  and  so  to  develop  in  time  a  new  vari- 
ety from  any  particularly  good  plant.  There  is  little  danger 
of  mixing  the  varieties  of  these  grains  if  proper  care  is  used 
in  sowing,  harvesting,  and  threshing.  Rye,  however,  may 
become  mixed  in  the  field  by  pollen  carried  from  other  plants 
by  the  wind  or  by  insects,  and  hence  it  is  quite  difficult  to 
build  up  a  pure  strain.  Only  a  few  varieties  are  recognized 
even  by  seedsmen,  and  farmers  ordinarily  grow  simply  ''win- 
ter lye"  or  "spring  rye."  Most  of  the  rye  grown  in  this 
country  is  sown  in  the  fall,  for  winter  rye  is  our  hardiest  win- 
ter grain  and  there  are  few  localities  where  it  does  not  succeed. 

276.  Importance  of  the  Crop.  The  world  production  of 
rye  is  greater  than  that  of  barley,  but  less  than  that  of  wheat, 
corn,  oats  or  rice.  Almost  half  of  the  world's  crop  of  1,747,- 
000,000  bushels  is  grown  in  European  Russia,  and  about 
one  quarter  in  Germany.     In  these  two  countries  and  in 

217 


218 


FIELD  CROPS 


Sweden  and  Norway,  rye  is  quite  generally  ground  into  flour 
and  made  into  bread.  In  fact,  rye  bread  is  one  of  the  prin- 
cipal articles  of  diet  there,  particularly  among  the  poorer 

classes.  Other  countries 
where  large  quantities  of 
rye  are  grown  are  Austria- 
Hungary,  with  an  average 
annual  production  of  161,- 
000,000  bushels  for  the 
five  years  from  1910  to 
1914,  and  France  with 
48,000,000  bushels.  The 
average  production  of  the 
United  States  for  this 
period  was  37,368,000 
])ushels. 

277.  Production  in  the 
United  States.  Rye  is  ex- 
ceeded in  value  by  nine  of 
our  field  crops,  ranking 
next  above  flax.  The 
average  area  devoted  to 
the  production  of  rye  for 
the  ten  years  from  1908  to 
1917  was  2,611,000  acres, 
with  a  mean  yield  of  16.1 
bushels  to  the  acre  and  a 
total  average  production 
of  41,227,000  bushels, 
valued  at  $38,879,000. 
Table  XII  shows  the  leading  states  in  the  production  of 
rye,  with  the  10-year  average  acreage  and  production  in  each. 
Table  XII  and  Figure  82  show  that  the  greatest  part  of 
the  rye  crop  is  produced  in  a  few  states,  the  first  five  mentioned 
producing  over  half  of  the  average  crop.  The  remainder  of  the 


Figure  81. — Typical  heads  of  rye. 


PRODUCTION  OF  RYE 


219 


production  is  scattered  over  a  large  number  of  states,  mostly 
northern.  Beginning  in  1915,  there  has  been  an  enormous 
increase  in  the  production  of  rye  in  North  and  South  Dakota, 
particularly  the  former.  Though  the  average  area  devoted 
to  the  crop  in  North  Dakota  during  the  ten  years  was  only 
197,000  acres,  in  1917  a  total  of  1,040,000  acres  was  harvested. 

Table  XII.  The  average  annual  acreage,  production,  farm  value, 
and  yield  per  acre  of  rye  in  the  ten  leading  states  during  the  ten 
years  from  1908  to  1917,  inclusive. 


state 

Acreage 

Yield 
per  acre 

Production 

Farm  value 
Dec.  1 

Wisconsin 

Michigan 

Pennsylvania. .  . 

Minnesota 

New  York 

North  Dakota. . 

Nebraska 

Indiana 

South  Dakota.. 
New  Jersey .... 
All  others 

.4  cres 

361,000 
364,000 
300,000 
245,000 
144,000 
197,000 
118,000 
105,000 
90,000 
74,000 
613,000 

Acres 

17.4 
14.9 
16.9 
18.7 
17.6 
14.9 
15.7 
15.2 
16.5 
17.8 
14.0 

Bushels 

6,277,000 
5,435,000 
5,058,000 
4,578,000 
2,525,000 
2,378,000 
1,905,000 
1,585,000 
1,571,000 
1,310,000 
8,605,000 

Dollars 

5,729,000 
3,950,000 
4,501,000 
4,135,000 
2,458,000 
2,834,000 
1,715,000 
1,561,000 
1,774,000 
1,236,000 
8,978,000 

United  States .  . 

2,611,000 

16.1 

41,227,000 

38,879,000 

the  production  far  exceeding  that  of  any  other  state.  The 
acreage  sown  in  the  fall  of  1917  for  the  1918  crop  was  more 
than  double  that  of  the  previous  year,  or  about  2,250,000 
acres.  South  Dakota  harvested  350,000  acres,  nearly  four 
times  its  average  acreage,  and  the  acreage  for  1918  consider- 
ably exceeds  that  of  the  previous  year.  North  Dakota  now 
(1918)  exceeds  all  other  states  in  rye  production,  and  South 
Dakota's  acreage  exceeds  that  of  Minnesota  or  Wisconsin. 
The  highest  average  production  of  rye  to  the  acre  is  that 
recorded  in  Montana,  21.3  bushels.  Idaho,  Wyoming,  and 
Washington  all  show  high  acre  yields,  but  none  of  these 
states  is  an  important  producer  of  the  crop.  Of  the  states 
where  rye  is  important,  the  highest  yields  are  those  of  Min- 


m^m^m  3.8^c 

^^ammm  3.8^7 

^■■■B  3.29; 

220  _  FIELD  CROPS 

nesota,  18.9  bushels  to  the  acre,  and  Iowa,  18.4  bushels.  The 
highest  value  to  the  acre  is  reported  from  the  New  England 
states,  and  the  lowest  from  the  South.  The  value  of  an 
acre  of  rye  in  Wisconsin  is  $18.97,  and  in  Michigan,  $16.12. 
278.  Growing  the  Crop.  Rye  will  grow  on  rather  poorer 
soils  than  the  other  cereals,  and  is  frequently  planted  on 
land  which  is  low  in  fertility  or  which  is  not  in  good  condi- 
tion to  produce  crops,  such  as  that  which  is  just  being  brought 

WIS.  m^mmai^^mmmmmmmmmmm^am  15.2% 

MICH.  ma^^ma^mmmamBmmmBmmm  13.2% 

PENN.  ^aaammm^m^^mi^mmm^mi  12.3% 

MINN.  ^■^^^■■■■■^^■^■■liM  11.1% 

N.  T.  {^^■BBH^^IH  6.1% 

N.  DAK.     wm^^i^m^m  5.8% 
NEBR.       tmmm^ammm  4.6% 

INDIANA 

S.  DAK. 

N.  J. 

All  Others  HHBHani^HBHII^Hi^Hi^l^BJ^^H^HiHBIHH^IH  20.9% 

Figure  82. — Graph  showing  the  percentage  of  the  rye  crop  of  the  United  States  an- 
nually produced  in  the  ten  states  of  largest  production,  1908-1917. 

into  cultivation.  Materially  increased  yields  are  obtained  by 
growing  this  crop  on  good  soil  and  in  a  well-prepared  seed 
])ed.  The  best  yields  are  obtained  from  loam  soils  which 
are  quite  fertile.  The  seed  bed  for  winter  rye  should  be  pre- 
pared by  plowing  some  time  previous  to  sowing,  as  early 
as  August  1,  if  it  is  possible  to  remove  the  previous  crop  by 
that  time.  The  land  should  then  be  disked  and  harrowed 
to  make  it  fine  and  mellow,  and  to  prevent  drying  out.  It 
should  be  harrowed  often  enough  during  the  interval  between 
i:)lowing  and  seeding  to  prevent  the  growth  of  weeds.  Sow- 
ing with  the  grain  drill  is  preferable  to  broadcast  seeding. 
The  usual  rate  of  seeding  is  from  5  to  6  pecks  to  the  acre, 
though  as  much  as  8  pecks  may  be  sown  when  winter  pasture 
is  desired. 

The  time  of  seeding  depends  on  the  locality  and  the  use 
which  is  to  be  made  of  the  crop.  If  intended  for  fall  pasture, 
the  seed  may  be  sown  early  in  August  in  the  Northern  states, 


USES  OF  RYE 


221 


or  during  the  latter  part  of  August  or  early  in  September 
farther  south.  If  grown  for  grain  alone,  September  is  the 
usual  month  for  seeding  in  the  North,  and  October  in  the 
South.  Winter  rye  may  be  sown  later  than  winter  wheat, 
and  is  not  usually  sown  until  after  wheat  seeding  is  finished. 


Figure  83. — A  field  of  rye  ready  for  har^^est. 


The  methods  of  harvesting  and  threshing  are  not  different 
from  those  in  use  with  the  other  grains. 

279.  Uses  of  the  Rye  Grain.  In  the  United  States,  only 
a  small  portion  of  the  rye  crop  is  normally  used  as  human 
food.  At  the  present  time  (1918),  however,  it  is  largely  used 
as  a  wheat  substitute.  The  grain  is  usually  ground  into 
flour  and  mad(^  into  bread,  tliough  a  few  cereal  breakfast 
foods  are  made  wholl>^  or  in  part  from  this  grain.  In 
Russia  and  various  portions  of  northern  Europe,  rye  bread  is 
one  of  the  chief  foods  of  the  people.  The  bread  made  from 
rye  flour  is  close  in  texture  and  dark  in  color.  About  one 
third  of  the  rye  crop  in  America  is  normally  used  in  the  man- 
ufacture of  alcohol  and  alcoholic  beverages,  the  process  being 


zzt  FIELD  CROPS 

somewhat  similar  to  that  employed  in  the  manufacture  of 
these  hquors  from  corn.  The  government  has  recently- 
restricted  the  use  of  grain  for  alcohol.  The  grain  is  also 
excellent  for  feeding  to  stock,  though  best  results  are  usually 
obtained  when  rye  is  fed  in  combination  with  other  grains. 
The  best  use  of  the  grain  can  be  made  when  it  is  fed  to  horses 
or  hogs.  For  feeding  to  hogs  it  should  be  combined  with 
barley,  corn,  or  shorts,  while  it  is  best  for  horses  when  fed 
with  oats. 

280.  Uses  of  the  Green  Plant.  The  green  plant  is  an 
important  item  of  stock  food,  both  as  late  fall  and  early 
spring  pasture  and  as  a  crop  for  green  feed.  Rye  which  is 
sown  in  August  or  early  in  September  will  furnish  con- 
siderable pasturage  during  the  fall  months,  and  can  be  pas- 
tured quite  closely  without  danger  of  winterkilling.  The 
plants  from  this  early  sowing  should  be  pastured  closely 
enough  to  prevent  the  formation  of  heads  in  the  fall.  Rye 
also  furnishes  excellent  pasture  in  early  spring,  and  may  be 
pastured  for  two  or  three  weeks  at  that  time  without  seri- 
ously reducing  the  yield  of  grain.  For  feeding  green  to 
stock,  the  plants  should  be  cut  about  the  time  they  come  into 
head,  as  the  straw  becomes  stiff  and  wiry  and  is  unpalatable 
if  allowed  to  become  more  mature. 

Rye  is  frequently  plowed  under  as  green  manure  to  add 
humus  to  the  land.  It  makes  a  quick  growth  in  the  spring 
and  produces  a  large  quantity  of  material  early  enough  so 
that  it  can  be  plowed  down  and  another  crop  grown  on  the 
land  the  same  season.  In  the  South,  rye  makes  a  good 
winter  cover,  as  it  may  be  sown  later  than  most  other  crops, 
it  never  winterkills,  and  it  begins  to  grow  as  soon  as  the 
first  warm  days  come.  While  it  is  excellent  to  prevent  the 
soil  from  washing,  it  adds  little  to  the  fertility  of  the  land 
and  is  of  much  less  value  as  a  green  manure  crop  than  any  of 
the  legumes.  If  sown  with  winter  vetch  or  field  peas,  it  pro- 
vides a  support  and  increases  the  supply  of  vegetable  matter. 


DISEASES  AND  INSECTS  <>,2Z 

281.  Uses  of  the  Straw.  Rye  straw  is  of  little  value  for 
feeding,  but  its  stiff,  wiry  texture,  which  makes  it  dis- 
tasteful to  stock,  makes  it  useful  for  various  other  pur- 
poses. It  is  used  in  the  manufacture  of  coarse  straw 
articles,  such  as  cheap  straw  hats,  strawboard,  and  paper, 
and  for  the  stuffing  of  horse  collars.  For  the  latter  purpose, 
the  grain  is  flailed  out  to  prevent  the  straw  from  being  broken, 
or  is  threshed  with  special  machines  which  keep  the  straw 
straight,  Rye  straw  is  also  much  in  favor  as  packing  mate- 
lial  for  trees  and  other  nursery  stock,  and  as  bedding  for  live 
stock.  Breeders  of  fancy  horses  and  of  exhibition  stock 
of  other  kinds  often  pay  extra  prices  for  rye  straw  for  bedding. 
In  eastern  markets  rye  straw  is  sometimes  quoted  as  high 
as  second  grade  timothy  and  almost  as  high  as  the  grain. 

282.  Diseases  and  Insect  Enemies.  The  most  common 
disease  of  rye  is  ergot,  in  which  the  grains  are  replaced  by 
long  black  or  purplish  masses  of  spores.  This  disease  occurs 
on  many  of  the  wild  and  cultivated  grasses  and  occasionally 
on  the  other  small  grains,  but  of  our  cultivated  crops  it  is 
most  frequent  on  rye.  The  spores  of  this  parasite  enter  the 
ovule  when  it  begins  to  develop  and  the  growth  of  the  fungus 
gradually  replaces  that  of  the  ovule.  By  the  time  the  grain 
matures,  the  spore-mass  of  ergot  has  developed  into  a  hard, 
elongated,  slightly  curved  body  from  one  half  to  one  and  one 
half  inches  long.  The  fungus  reduces  the  yield  of  grain  to 
.some  extent,  but  it  is  most  serious  when  it  occurs  in  consider- 
able quantity  and  causes  poisoning  and  other  serious  dis- 
orders of  stock  which  eat  it.  Ergot  is  used  to  some  extent 
in  medicine.  The  best  preventive  measures  are  thorough 
cleaning  of  the  seed  and  rotation  of  crops  so  as  to  avoid  sow- 
ing rye  on  the  same  land  two  years  in  succession.  No  other 
disease  of  rye  is  serious,  though  both  black  and  brown  rust 
sometimes  occur.  This  crop  is  less  seriously  affected  by 
insect  pests  than  wheat  and  preventive  measures  against 
insect  attacks  are  seldom  necessary, 


2*24  FIELD  CROPH 

LABORATOKY  AND  FIELD  EXERCISES 

1.  Make  a  study  and  write  a  description  of  the  rye  plant,  ns  has 
already  been  done  with  the  other  cereals. 

2.  If  it  is  possible  to  obtain  several  samples,  have  them  judged 
and  i)laced  according  to  thoir  relative  value. 

REFERENCES 

Cyclopedia  of  American  Agricultiu-e,  \o\.  II,  Bailey. 

Farm  Crops,  Burkett. 

The  Small  Grains,  Carleton. 

Southern  Field  Crops,  Duggar. 

Cereals  in  America,  Hunt. 

Field  Crop  Production,  Livingston. 

Productive  Farm  Crops,  Montgomery. 

Farmers'  Cyclopedia  of  Agriculture.  Wilcox  and  Smith. 

Planners'  Bulletins: 

756.  The  Culture  of  Rye  in  the  Eastern  United  States. 

894.  Rye  Growing  in  the  Southeastern  States. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

FLAX 

HISTORY  AND  DESCRIPTION 

283.  Origin  and  History.  Flax,  like  wheat,  has  been 
grown  from  the  earliest  times  of  which  we  have  records.  Its 
earlier  cultivation  was  for  the  production  of  fiber,  the  manu- 
facture of  cloth  (linen)  from  flax  fiber  being  an  art  which  was 
practiced  by  the  ancient  Egyptians  and  Hindus.  The  use 
of  the  seed  for  the  manufacture  of  oil  and  for  feeding  to  stock 
seems  to  have  been  of  comparatively  recent  development. 
Flax  still  grows  wild  in  the  region  around  the  Black  Sea,  in 
what  is  now  Asiatic  Turkey.  While  it  is  quite  possible  that 
this  is  the  region  from  which  it  was  originally  obtained,  this 
plant  is  so  likely  to  run  wild  in  localities  where  it  is  culti- 
vated, and  to  maintain  itself  in  the  wild  state  for  years,  that 
it  is  equally  possible  that  it  may  have  been  brought  to  the 
Black  Sea  region  from  some  other  country.  In  fact,  flax 
is  quite  frequently  found  growing  wild  in  the  United  States, 
though  it  is  well  known  that  it  is  not  native.  The  cultiva- 
tion of  flax  was  carried  from  Egypt  and  western  Asia  into 
Europe,  and  from  Europe  it  was  introduced  at  an  early  date 
into  America.  The  ancient  peoples  of  central  Europe  culti- 
vated a  perennial  species,  but  this  was  later  replaced  by  the 
annual  species  from  Western  Asia. 

284.  Botanical  Characters  and  Relationships.  Flax  be- 
longs to  the  Linaceae,  or  flax  family,  the  typical  genus  and 
the  only  one  which  grows  in  the  northern  part  of  the  United 
States  being  Linum,  to  which  the  cultivated  flax  belongs. 
The  only  species  of  this  genus  which  is  cultivated  in  the 
United    States  is  Linum  usitatissimum  though  two  other 

15 —  225 


226  FIELD  CROPS 

species  are  occasionally  cultivated  in  other  parts  of  the  world 
and  a  number  of  species  grow  wild  in  America  and  elsewhere. 
Our  common  flax  is  an  annual,  with  a  single  upright  stem 
and  a  long  taproot  with  few  small  branches.  The  number 
of  the  basal  branches  and  the  length  of  the  fruiting  branches  of 
the  stem  depend  largely  on  the  thickness  of  seeding.     Plants 


u 

-^#_ 

rj^B-'t^r^TBWffW 

s 

m^ 

^S 

^^^S 

h-  #iPPPf 

♦  .'v';' 

' 

'  \ 

•"  ' 

A-* 

^      .....^...       '       . 

«^^, 

Figure  84. — Field  of  flax  in  bluuin. 

which  have  plenty  of  room  to  develop  will  produce  numer- 
ous branches,  while  those  that  are  crowded  branch  little  or 
not  at  all,  except  for  the  branches  of  the  panicle.  The  flax 
plant  grows  from  12  to  36  inches  high,  the  length  of  straw 
depending  on  the  variety,  the  soil,  and  the  season.  The 
leaves  are  alternate,  lanceolate,  from  one  half  to  one  and 
one  half  inches  long.  The  flowers  are  produced  in  a  leafy 
terminal  panicle;  the  flower  parts  are  in  fives,  the  flowers 
themselves  being  about  a  half  inch  across  and  usually  of  a 
light  blue  color.  The  rounded  capsules  contain  eight  or 
ten  seeds,  which  are  usually  light  brown  in  color;  they  are 
flattened  and  have  a  smooth,  shining  or  polished  surface. 


IMPORTANCE  OF  FLAX  227 

The  stems  of  flax  are  made  up  of  three  layers,  the  bark, 
the  wood,  and  the  pith.  The  bark  is  composed  of  several 
layers,  of  which  the  most  important  from  an  economic  point 
of  view  is  the  bast,  or  fiber,  cells.  These  cells  are  only  about 
one  tenth  to  one  sixth  of  an  inch  long,  but  are  so  firmly 
fastened  together  that  fibers  of  the  entire  length  of  the  straw 
may  be  removed.  The  process  of  separating  these  fibers 
from  the  other  portions  of  the  stem  is  described  elsewhere. 
(Section  292). 

IMPORTANCE  OF  THE  CROP 

285.  World  Production.  There  are  few  plants  which 
are  put  to  a  greater  variety  of  uses  than  flax.  The  fiber  from 
the  stem  is  used  in  the  manufacture  of  many  articles,  from 
the  finest  linen  cloth  to  coarse  twine  and  bagging.  The  oil 
from  the  seeds  is  used  in  the  manufacture  of  paint,  varnishes, 
and  other  articles;  the  grain  from  which  the  oil  has  been 
removed  is  fed  to  stock.  The  mucilage-hke  substance  which 
exudes  from  the  seed  coat  when  the  grain  is  dampened  is 
made  use  of  to  some  extent  in  medicine,  in  the  making  of 
poultices  and  for  other  purposes.  The  greater  portion  of  the 
flax  which  is  grown  in  this  country  is  produced  for  the  seed, 
from  which  oil  and  oilmeal  are  manufactured,  though  the 
straw  is  used  to  some  extent  in  the  manufacture  of  twine, 
bagging,  and  upholstered  articles. 

Fiber  flax  is  produced  largely  in  Russia  and  in  Austria- 
Hungary,  Russia  normally  furnishing  nearly  four  fifths  of  the 
world's  supply.  Argentina  is  the  leading  country  in  the  pro- 
duction of  seed  flax,  the  United  States  and  Russia  ranking 
next  in  importance.  Argentina  produced  more  than  29 
per  cent  of  the  entire  world's  crop  of  flaxseed  in  the  five  years 
from  1909  to  1913;  European  Russia,  slightly  less  than  20 
per  cent;  British  India,  18  per  cent;  and  the  United  States, 
slightly  less  than  18  per  cent.  The  average  world  produc- 
tion for  this  period  was  109,000,000  bushels. 


228  FIELD  CROPS 

286.  Production  in  the  United  States.  In  the  ten  years 
from  1908  to  1917,  as  shown  in  Table  XIII,  nearly  half  of  the 
flax  crop  of  the  United  States  was  produced  in  North  Dakota, 
the  average  area  devoted  to  flax  in  that  state  being  1,074,000 
acres,  and  the  average  production  8,361 ,000  bushels.  Minne- 
sota and  South  Dakota  each  produced  nearly  one  fifth  of 
the  crop,  most  of  the  remainder  being  grown  in  Montana. 
Figure  85  shows  graphically  the  portion  of  the  crop  produced 
in  the  four  leading  states.  The  production  of  flax  is  much 
N.  DAK.    m^^^m^^m^^^m^^a^mama^^m^m  48.1% 

MINN.        ^i^i— ^Mi^^—  18.5% 

s.  DAK.     w^mmmm^^mm^^  18.5% 
MONT,     m^^m^^^mm  12.7% 

AU  others  ■■  2.2% 

Figure  85. — Graph  showing  the  percentage  of  the  total  flax  crop  of  the  United 
States   produced   in  the  four  leading  states,  and  in  all  others,  1908-1917. 

more  important  in  North  Dakota  than  in  any  other  state, 
the  acreage  being  about  half  that  in  oats  and  only  sUghtly  less 
than  that  devoted  to  barley.  In  annual  value,  the  flax  crop  of 
the  United  States  exceeds  rice,  ranking  next  to  rye.  The  aver- 
age annual  value  of  the  crop  for  the  ten  years  was  $28,111,000. 
The  standard  weight  of  a  bushel  of  flax  is  56  pounds. 

GROWING  THE  CROP 

287.  Soils  Adapted  to  Flax.  In  America,  flax  is  grown 
almost  entirely  in  newly  settled  districts,  and  is  quite  gener- 
ally the  first  crop  sown  after  the  breaking  of  prairie  sod. 
There  are  two  reasons  for  this  practice.  One  is  that  flax 
grows  better  than  almost  any  other  crop  on  tough  sod  and 
it  is  effective  in  subduing  new  land;  the  other  is  that  when 
flax  is  grown  for  several  years  in  succession,  the  land  becomes 
"flax  sick"  and  fails  to  produce  a  profitable  crop.  The  con- 
dition known  as  flax  sickness  is  explained  elsewhere  (Section 
295).  The  crop  grows  best  in  a  rather  cool  climate  and  on 
soils  that  are  not  too  heavy.  Sandy  loams  are  better  adapted 
to  flax  than  are  clay  loams  or  heavy  clays.     The  idea  is  very 


GROWING  FLAX 


229 


common  among  farmers  that  flax  is  "hard  on  the  land,"  but 
the  failure  of  the  crop  when  it  is  grown  for  several  successive 
years  on  the  same  field  is  due  more  to  diseases  than  to  the 
removal  of  soil  fertility.  The  general  practice  of  growing 
flax  only  on  new  land  makes  the  use  of  fertilizers  and  manures 
practically  unnecessary. 

Table  XIII.  Average  annual  acreage,  production,  and  farm  value 
of  the  flax  crop  of  the  United  States  and  of  the  four  leading  states 
during  the  ten  years  from  1908  to  1917,  inclusive. 


State 

Area 

Average 
yield  per 
acre 

Production 

Farm  Value 
Dec.  1 

North  Dakota. . 

Minnesota 

South  Dakota.. 

Montana 

All  others 

Acres 

1,074,000 

352,000 

414,000 

264,000 

40,000 

Bushels 

7.9 
9.3 
8.1 
9.0 
9.4 

Bushels 
8,361,000 
3,220,000 
3,213,000 
2,717,000 
377,000 

Dollars 

13,768,000 

5,388,000 

4,836,000 

3,572,000 

549,000 

United  States .  . 

2,144,000 

8.2 

17,388,000 

28,133,000 

288.  Preparation  of  the  Land.  The  usual  method  of 
preparing  sod  land  for  flax  is  to  flat  break  it  in  the  fall  or  early 
in  the  spring,  running  the  plow  j  ust  deep  enough  to  turn  the 
sod  over.  It  may  be  cut  up  with  the  disk  harrow  in  the 
spring  if  the  breaking  was  done  the  preceding  summer  or 
fall,  setting  the  disks  quite  straight  to  avoid  turning  up  the 
unrotted  turf.  The  use  of  the  roller  or  some  other  implement 
for  packing  the  soil  is  advisable  on  newly  plowed  land.  The 
seed  is  sometimes  sown  on  new  breaking  with  little  or  no 
preparation,  but  tlie  increased  yields  which  are  obtained 
where  a  good  seed  bed  has  been  prepared  usually  pay  for  the 
extra  work.  On  old  land,  deep  plowing  and  thorough  prep- 
aration are  necessary  in  order  to  get  the  best  results.  A 
firm,  well-packed  seed  bed  is  more  essential  to  success  with 
flax  than  with  almost  any  other  crop. 

289.  Preparing  the  Seed  for  Sowing.  Thorough  clean- 
ing and  grading  of  the  seed  are  necessary  to  obtain  the  best 


230  FIELD  CROPS 

yields.  All  light  seed,  straw,  dirt,  and  weed  seed  should  be 
removed  by  running  the  grain  through  the  fanning  mill 
several  times.  By  grading,  seeds  of  uniform  size  and  weight 
are  obtained,  all  of  which  contain  practically  the  same  quan- 
tity of  food  material  for  the  young  plants.  If  proper  care 
is  taken  in  sowing  to  cover  the  seed  to  a  uniform  depth,  the 
growth  of  the  crop  throughout  the  season  is  uniform,  and 
it  all  ripens  at  the  same  time,  an  important  consideration. 
After  the  seed  has  been  cleaned  and  graded,  it  should  be 
treated  with  the  formaldehyde  solution  recommended  for 
wheat  smut  (Section  196,  c).  This  destroys  any  spores  of  the 
flax  wilt  fungus  which  may  adhere  to  the  seed,  and  seems 
also  to  be  of  actual  benefit  to  the  early  growth  of  the  plants. 
The  best  method  of  treatment  is  to  sprinkle  the  solution  on 
a  pile  containing  from  5  to  10  bushels  of  seed,  shoveling  it 
over  so  that  it  is"  all  reached  by  the  fungicide.  About  one 
half  gallon  of  the  solution  is  needed  for  each  bushel  of  seed. 
After  all  the  seed  is  moistened,  cover  the  pile  with  a  canvas 
or  blanket  for  a  couple  of  hours  and  shovel  the  seed  over 
once  or  twice  during  the  first  hour  after  treating.  The  seed 
may  be  sown  with  the  grain  drill  after  it  has  been  treated. 

290.  Sowing  the  Seed.  The  usual  method  of  sowing  flax 
is  with  the  grain  drill,  the  type  with  press  wheels  being  rather 
better  than  any  other,  as  it  helps  to  supply  the  firm  seed 
bed  so  necessary  for  the  best  growth  of  this  crop.  The  usual 
depth  of  seeding  is  from  3^  to  1  inch.  In  the  United  States 
the  common  rate  of  seeding  is  from  2  to  3  pecks  to  the  acre. 
This  seeding  produces  plants  with  numerous  branches,  and 
encourages  the  production  of  large  yields  of  seed.  On  the 
other  hand,  thick  seeding  produces  single  stems,  long  straight 
fiber,  and  comparatively  few  seeds.  When  flax  is  grown  for 
fiber,  the  rate  of  seeding  should  be  greatly  increased.  The 
quantity  of  seed  sown  for  fiber  production  in  Europe  is  2 
bushels  or  more  to  the  acre.  The  young  plants  are  quite 
easily  injured  by  late  spring  frosts,  hence  seeding  should  be 


HARVESTING  FLAX  231 

delayed  until  danger  from  them  is  practically  past.  On  the 
other  hand,  seeding  at  the  earliest  safe  date  is  desirable  in 
order  to  escape  the  early  fall  frosts.  Flax  is  usually  sown  in 
the  latter  half  of  May  and  harvested  early  in  September, 
the  growing  season  of  the  crop  being  from  90  to  100  days. 

HARVESTING  AND  HANDLING, 

291.  Harvesting  the  Crop.  The  usual  method  of  harvest- 
ing seed  flax  is  with  the  grain  binder.  The  crop  cures  readily 
in  the  shock  and  is  not  easily  injured  by  the  weather,  though 
excessive  rains  will  reduce  the  value  of  the  seed.  The 
seed  is  removed  from  the  straw  with  the  ordinary  thresh- 
ing machine.  The  harvesting  of  fiber  flax  is  quite  another 
matter,  as  practically  all  the  work  must  be  done  by  hand 
to  insure  fiber  of  the  best  quality.  Various  machines  have . 
been  devised  for  the  harvesting  and  later  handling  of  fiber 
flax,  but  they  have  not  been  entirely  satisfactory.  The  large 
amount  of  hand  labor  required  in  the  production  of  this 
crop  accounts  for  its  failure  to  find  favor  with  American 
farmers.  For  the  profitable  production  of  fiber  flax,  an 
abundance  of  cheap  labor  is  necessary.  The  plants  are 
pulled  by  hand  and  tied  into  small  bundles,  and  are  then 
put  into  shocks  for  curing.  Cutting  them  off  by  machinery 
permits  weathering  and  contact  with  the  soil  which  injure 
the  fiber  at  the  cut  ends. 

292.  The  Handling  of  Fiber  Flax.  While  the  production 
of  flax  for  fiber  may  never  become  important  in  America, 
the  various  steps  in  its  handling  are  of  interest.  The  seed 
is  threshed  out  of  the  bundle  after  it  has  cured  for  two  or 
three  weeks  in  the  shock,  either  by  rubbing  or  by  holding  the 
heads  between  revolving  rollers  while  the  straw  is  held  in  the 
hands.  The  straw  is  then  bound  into  bundles  for  the  next 
process,  which  is  known  as  retting.  This  is  the  preparation 
of  the  straw  for  the  removal  of  the  outer  layers  from  the 
stalk,  by  spreading  it  thinly  on  the  ground  and  exposing  it  to 


232 


FIELD  CROPS 


the  weather  for  three  or  four  weeks.  After  this  time,  the 
various  layers  separate  easily  and  the  wood  and  bark  are 
removed  by  a  process  known  as  breaking.  The  straw  is 
either  pounded  with  wooden  mallets  or  bent  in  some  sort  of 
machine,  but  the  best  quality  of  fiber  is  obtained  when  the 


Figure 


. — Samples  of  flax:  at  the  left,  the  fiber  type;  at  the  right,  flax  grown 
for  seed  production. 


work  is  done  by  hand  with  mallets.  Any  coarse  fiber,  bark> 
or  wood  which  remains  is  removed  by  a  process  known  as 
scutching,  which  consists  of  beating  the  bundles  of  fiber  with 
a  series  of  paddles.  This  is  sometimes  done  by  hand,  but 
usually  by  machinery.  The  fiber  is  then  sorted  according 
to  its  quahty  and  baled  into  bundles  of  about  200  pounds 
each.  It  is  kept  in  these  bales  until  it  is  spun  into  thread 
and  woven  into  cloth,  either  alone  or  in  combination 
with  cotton.  Some  of  the  finest  laces  and  fabrics  are  made 
from  linen  thread.  The  coarser  fiber,  or  tow,  is  used  in  the 
manufacture  of  twine  and  in  upholstering. 

MARKET  AND  RETURNS 

293.  Market  Grades  of  Flaxseed.  Minneapolis  is  one 
of  the  principal  markets  for  flaxseed,  and  the  official  grades 
fixed  by  the  MinneapoHs  Board  of  Grain  Appeals  may  be 
taken  as  standard.  These  grades  are  No.  1  Northwestern, 
No.  1,  No.  2,  and  N-o  grade,    No.  1  Northwestern  flaxseed 


DISEASES  OF  FLAX  233 

''shall  be  mature,  sound,  dry,  and  sweet.  It  shall  be  north- 
ern grown.  The  maximum  quantity  of  field,  stack,  storage, 
or  other  damaged  seed  intermixed  shall  not  exceed  123/2  per 
cent.  The  minimum  weight  shall  be  51  pounds  to  the 
measured  bushel,  commercially  pure  seed."  No.  1  flaxseed 
may  contain  25  per  cent  of  immature  or  damaged  seed,  and 
weigh  not  less  than  50  pounds  to  the  bushel.  The  other 
grades  include  flax  not  fit  for  either  of  the  higher  grades. 

294.  Prices  and  Acre  Value. .  The  average  farm  price  of 
flaxseed  in  the  United  States  for  the  ten  years  from  1908  to 
1917  was  SI. 775  per  bushel,  with  a  range  from  $1,147  in 
1908  to  $2,968  in  1917.  The  flax  crops  of  the  United  States 
since  1913  have  been  all  small,  while  that  of  1917  was  the 
smallest  in  many  years.  This  small  crop,  combined  with 
the  high  prices  of  all  other  grains  and  the  diflficulty  of  ob- 
taining cargo  space  for  flax  shipments  from  Argentina,  have 
caused  flax  prices  to  reach  the  highest  point  ever  known 
(1918).  The  price  which  can  ordinarily  be  expected  for  flax- 
seed varies  from  $1.25  to  $2.00  per  bushel.  At  present,  the 
Minneapolis  price  for  flax  is  around  $4.00  per  bushel.  The 
average  acre  value  usually  ranges  from  $10  to  $12,  though  in 
recent  years  it  has  been  slightly  higher.  This  is  for  the  seed 
alone.  Where  there  is  a  demand  for  the  straw,  this  brings  in 
some  additional  return.  As  flax  is  ordinarily  grown  with 
very  little  expense,  there  is  a  reasonable  profit  in  the  crop. 

DISEASES  AND  INSECT  ENEMIES 

295.  Diseases  and  Insect  Enemies.  The  principal  dis- 
ease which  attacks  flax  in  this  country  is  flax  wilt.  It  is  this 
disease  which  commonly  causes  the  condition  known  as 
"flax-sick  soil,"  though  other  fungous  diseases  produce  the 
same  result.  Flax  wilt  is  a  fungus  which  enters  the  young 
plant,  from  spores  either  in  the  soil  or  on  the  seed.  The 
fungus  grows  inside  the  tissues  of  the  plant  and  fills  the 
cells,  causing  the  plant  to  die  as  if  from  lack  of  water.     The 


234  FIELD  CROPS 

plants  are  attacked  at  all  stages  of  growth,  from  young  seed- 
lings to  maturity.  The  best  preventive  measures  are  to  sow 
only  clean  seed  from  which  all  dirt  and  pieces  of  flax  straw 
have  been  removed,  to  treat  the  seed  with  the  formaldehyde 
solution  (Section  195),  and  to  grow  flax  on  new  land  only,  or 
as  a  single  crop  in  a  rotation  of  several  years'  duration. 
Much  can  also  be  accompUshed  by  saving  seed  from  plants 
which  mature  in  flax-sick  soil  and  hence  are  resistant  to  the 
disease.  Manure  containing  flax  straw  or  from  stock  fed 
on  flax  straw  should  not  be  put  on  land  on  which  flax  is  to  be 
grown.  Several  other  fungous  diseases  occur,  mostly  simi- 
lar to  flax  wilt,  though  less  serious,  and  yield  to  the  same 
treatment:  Fortunately  the  crop  is  not  very  subject  to 
serious  injury  from  insects. 

ROTATION,  USES,  IMPROVEMENT 

296.  Place  in  the  Rotation.  On  account  of  the  fungous 
diseases  which  attack  flax  when  it  is  grown  for  seyeral  years 
on  the  same  land,  rotation  of  crops  is  particularly  essential 
if  this  crop  is  to  become  a  permanent  one  in  any  locality. 
On  account  of  the  common  practice  of  growing  it  only  on  new 
land,  no  definite  rotations  containing  flax  have  yet  been 
established.  To  escape  injury  from  flax  diseases,  this  crop 
should  not  be  grown  on  the  same  field  more  frequently  than 
once  in  five  years,  and  better  results  are  obtained  where 
a  cultivated  crop  and  a  grass  crop  are  included  in  the  rota- 
tion than  where  small  grains  alone  are  grown. 

297.  Uses  of  Flaxseed.  Practically  all  the  flaxseed  pro- 
duced in  the  United  States  is  utilized  in  the  manufacture 
of  linseed  oil.  There  are  two  methods  of  extracting  the  oil. 
from  the  seed,  known  as  the  old  process  and  the  new  process. 
The  old  process  consists  of  crushing  the  seed,  heating  it  to 
about  165  degrees  F.,  and  placing  it  in  sacks  or  between 
cloths  and  forcing  the  oil  out  by  pressure.  The  new  process 
differs  from  this  in  that  the  crushed  and  heated  seed  is  placed 


USES  OF  FLAXSEED 


235 


in  tanks  or  cylinders  and  treated  with  naphtha  to  extract  the 
oil.  This  oil  is  then  used  in  the  manufacture  of  paints, 
varnishes,  oilcloth  or  hnoleum  (in  combination  with  ground 
cork),  and  various  other  articles.  The  meal  from  which  the 
oil  has  been  extracted  is  used  for  feeding  to  stock,  either  as 
it  comes  from  the  presses  as  oilcake,  or  crushed  or  ground 


Figures?. — A  linseed  oil  mill,  with  steel  tanks  at  the  right  for  storing  the  flaxseed. 


into  the  form  known  as  oilmeal  or  Unseed  meal.  Oilmeal  is 
very  rich  in  protein,  and  is  used  for  feeding  to  dairy  cows  and 
to  other  animals.  On  account  of  its  richness,  it  must  be  fed 
in  small  quantities,  in  combination  with  other  grains.  Whole 
flaxseed  is  seldom  fed  to  stock,  for  it  is  too  high  in  price  as 
compared  with  other  grains.  Flax  straw  in  not  usually  re- 
garded as  a  feeding  stuff  of  value,  though  it  contains  con- 
siderable nutriment.  In  years  when  other  forage  is  scarce, 
however,  it  is  quite  a  useful  feed.  The  straw  is  now  utilized 
to  some  extent  in  this  country  in  the  manufacture  of  twine, 
coarse  bagging,  tow  for  upholstering,  and  felting  material. 
298.  Improvement  of  the  Crop.  While  the  growing  of 
fiber  flax  may  never  become  an  important  industry  in  the 
United  States,  more  attention  can  well  be  given  to  the  pro- 


236  FIELD  CROPS 

duction  of  better  grades  of  straw  for  the  mills  which  utilize 
it  in  the  manufacture  of  twine  and  other  articles.  The  farmer 
thus  gets  a  double  return  for  his  crop  in  the  sale  of  both  the 
seed  and  the  straw.  Selection  of  plants  that  have  the  long- 
est straw  combined  with  a  good  yield  of  seed  will  greatly 
improve  the  quality  of  the  straw  for  fiber  purposes.  On  the 
other  hand,  the  selection  of  heavy-yielding  plants  and  their 
increase  into  sufficient  quantities  for  field  planting  can  be 
carried  out  along  the  lines  recommended  for  the  improve- 
ment of  the  small  grains  (See  index) .  The  greatest  improve- 
ment, however,  can  be  made  by  developing  wilt-resistant 
strains.  Excellent  work  has  already  been  done  in  this 
direction,  but  much  remains  to  be  accomplished.  The  best 
results  come  from  selection  of  resistant  strains  in  the  local- 
ity in  which  they  are  to  be  grown.  The  plants  which  mature 
in  a  field  attacked  by  flax  wilt  should  be  harvested  and 
the  seed  carefully  saved.  Only  by  growing  these  resistant 
plants  can  strains  not  subject  to  the  disease  be  developed. 

LABORATORY  AND  FIELD  EXERCISES 

1.  Mount  specimens  of  the  plant  and  the  fiber  and  thread  made 
from  it.     Add  also  a  piece  of  fabric. 

2.  Press  some  seeds  and  watch  for  traces  of  oil,  or  boil  some  and 
see  whether  oil  rises  to  the  surface. 

3.  Samples  of  seed  may  be  judged  on  the  size  and  uniformity  of 
the  grain,  freedom  from  green  and  shriveled  seed,  and  freedom  from 
other  grains,  weed  seeds,  and  trash. 

REFERENCES' 

Cyclopedia  of  American  Agriculture,  Vol.  II,  Bailey. 

The  Small  Grains,  Carleton. 

Forage  and  Fiber  Crops  in  America,  Hunt. 

Field  Crop  Production,  Livingston. 

Productive  Farm  Crops,  Montgomery, 

Farmers'  Cyclopedia  of  Agriculture,  Wilcox  and  Smith. 

Farmers'  Bulletins: 

669.  Fiber  Flax. 

785.  Seed  Flax  Production. 


CHAPTER  IX 

MISCELLANEOUS  GRAIN  CROPS 
RICE 

299.  Origin  and  History.  Rice  is  one  of  the  oldest  of 
cultivated  plants,  its  cultivation  in  China  dating  back  at 
least  4,000  years.  It  is  evidently  a  native  of  that  country, 
for  it  still  grows  wild  in  the  southern  portion.  Rice  was 
carried  from  China  into  India,  then  into  western  Asia,  Egypt, 
and  southern  Europe.  Its  introduction  into  the  United 
States  is  said  to  date  from  1694,  when  a  small  quantity  was 
brought  to  Charleston,  South  Carolina.  Its  cultivation 
soon  became  quite  general  in  the  low  lands  along  the  Caro- 
lina coast,  but  it  was  not  grown  on  a  large  scale  elsewhere  in 
North  America  until  within  the  last  thirty  or  thirty-five  years. 

300.  Botanical  Characters.  Rice  does  not  differ  materi- 
ally in  its  growth  from  the  other  cereals.  Botanically,  the 
rice  plant  is  known  as  Oryza  sativa.  Its  nearest  relative 
in  a  wild  state  in  the  United  States  is  the  wild  rice  of  the 
swamps,  Zizania  aquatica,  which  is  used  as  food  by  the 
Indians  and  to  a  limited  extent  by  white  men.  The  culms 
of  cultivated  rice  usually  reach  a  height  of  from  4  to  5  feet, 
several  culms  being  produced  from  one  seed.  The  flowers 
are  produced  in  compact  panicles;  the  spikelets,  which  are 
one-flowered,  are  on  short  pedicels.  The  outer  glumes  are 
short  scales;  the  inner  or  flowering  glume,  which  incloses  the 
kernel,  is  sometimes  awned.  The  flowering  glume  and  palea 
together  make  up  the  hull,  or  husk,  which  is  usually  yellowish 
brown  in  color.  The  inner  portion  of  the  grain  is  hard  and 
white.  Rice  which  is  enclosed  in  the  hull  is  known  as  paddy; 
that  from  which  the  hull  has  been  removed  is  known  as 
cleaned  rice. 


238 


FIELD  CROPS 


301.  Varieties.  The  two  general  types  of  rice  are  the 
lowland  and  the  upland.  The  former  is  grown  on  rather  low, 
level  land  which  can  be  flooded  from  wells  or  streams,  while 
the  latter  is  produced  without  irrigation.  The  lowland  is 
the  type  grown  almost  entirely  in  this  country.  The  variety 
most  commonl}^  grown  in  South  Carolina  is  the  Carolina 


Figure 


8. — The  two  common  types  of  rice  grown  in  America:  Hon- 
duraa  on  the  left,  a  Japanese  variety  on  the  right 


Gold,  with  golden-yellow  hulls.  In  Louisiana  and  Texas, 
the  types  usually  grown  are  the  Honduras  and  the  Japan. 
Both  are  yellowish  brown  in  color;  the  grains  of  Honduras 
rice  are  larger  and  longer,  but  relatively  thinner,  than  those 
of  the  Japan  type.  Though  Japan  rice  is  of  comparatively 
recent  introduction,  large  quantities  of  it  are  now  grown. 

302.  Importance  of  the  Crop.  Rice  is  one  of  the  world's 
greatest  food  crops,  being  a  staple  article  of  diet  for  several 
hundred  millions  of  people  in  India,  China,  and  Japan.  The 
total  annual  production  of  cleaned  rice  is  something  like 
175,000,000,000  pounds,  indicating  an  annual  production  of 
rough  rice,  or  paddy,  of  about  280,000,000,000  pounds,  as 


IMPORTANCE  OF  RICE  239 

compared  with  the  world!s  wheat  crop  of  204,000,000,000 
pounds,  and  a  sUghtly  smaller  corn  crop.  By  far  the 
greater  part  of  this  enormous  crop  is  raised  in  Asia.  India 
has  an  annual  production  of  70,000,000,000  pounds  of 
cleaned  rice,  China  50,000,000,000  pounds,  and  Japan 
18,000,000,000  pounds.  The  total  European  production 
of  rice  amounts  to  about  1,000,000,000  pounds  annually, 
most  of  which  is  grown  in  Italy  and  Spain. 

In  comparison  with  these  figures,  the  production  of  rice 
in  the  United  States  is  insignificant,  the  average  yield  for 
the  five  years  from  1913  to  1917  being  only  862,000,000 
pounds.  Practically  all  this  crop  is  grown  in  the  four  states 
of  Louisiana,  Texas,  Arkansas,  and  California.  In  slavery 
times,  South  Carohna  produced  most  of  the  rice  grown  in  the 
United  States,  but  after  the  slaves  were  freed  the  industry 
rapidly  declined.  The  fields  along  the  Atlantic  Coast  are 
small  and  not  adapted  to  the  use  of  modern  seeding  and 
harvesting  machinery,  while  the  level  plains  of  Louisiana 
and  Texas,  with  abundant  water  for  irrigation  from  wells 
and  rivers,  furnish  ideal  conditions  for  the  cheap  production 
of  rice  on  a  large  scale.  Since  the  introduction  of  modern 
machinery  into  this  district,  about  1885,  there  has  been  an 
immense  increase  in  the  production  of  rice,  though  the  United 
States  still  imports  more  than  200,000,000  pounds  of  cleaned 
rice  annually.  In  1917,  500,000  acres  were  devoted  to  rice 
production  in  Louisiana,  230,000  acres  in  Texas,  146,000 
acres  in  Arkansas,  and  80,000  acres  in  California.  The 
average  yield  to  the  acre  was  about  37.6  bushels  of  rough  rice 
of  45  pounds  each,  equivalent  to  about  1,080  pounds  of 
cleaned  rice.  The  total  crop  of  the  United  States  was  valued 
at  $69,000,000.  This  is  one  third  less  than  the  value  of  the 
rye  crop. 

303.  Conditions  Necessary  to  Production.  The  con- 
ditions which  are  necessary  to  the  successful  production  of 
lowland  rice  include  a  soil  which  retains  moisture  and  is 


240  FIELD  CROPS 

level  enough  to  be  readily  irrigated,  an  abundant  supply  of 
water  for  irrigation,  and  a  warm  growing  season.  The  fer- 
tile river  valleys  and  plains  of  Arkansas,  Texas,  and  Louisiana 
are  ideal  for  the  production  of  this  crop. 

304.  Growing  the  Crop.  The  methods  of  preparing  the 
land  for  rice  as  practiced  in  Texas  and  Louisiana  are  not 
different  from  those  used  in  the  Northern  and  Central  states 
for  other  cereals.  The  land  is  usually  plowed  in  the  spring 
and  is  disked  and  harrowed  to  form  a  good  seed  bed.  To 
prevent  too  rapid  loss  of  water  from  a  loose  soil,  newly 
plowed  land  is  sometimes  rolled.  The  seed  is  generally  sown 
with  a  grain  drill  at  the  rate  of  from  1  to  2  bushels  to  the 
acre,  usually  from  April  15  to  May  15.  The  seeding  and 
harvesting  seasons  may  extend  over  a  considerable  period  on 
a  given  farm,  thus  enabling  the  farmer  to  put  in  a  com- 
paratively large  acreage  with  a  small  equipment.  Water  is 
not  usually  appUed  to  rice  fields  until  the  crop  is  about  8 
inches  high;  then  it  is  let  in  to  a  depth  of  from  3  to  6  inches, 
and  this  depth  is  maintained  till  the  crop  is  nearly  mature. 
To  prevent  the  water  from  becoming  stagnant,  a  practically 
continuous  flow  is  provided,  with  drainage  to  maintain  the 
proper  level.  When  the  crop  begins  to  ripen,  the  water  is 
drawn  off  to  allow  the  ground  to  dry  out  sufficiently  for 
harvesting.  The  ordinary  grain  binder  is  used ;  the  methods 
of  harvesting,  stacking,  and  threshing  are  not  different  from 
those  used  with  other  grains. 

305.  Uses  of  Rice  and  Rice  Products.  Rice  is  mostly 
used  as  human  food.  In  the  United  States,  the  milling  pro- 
cess consists  in  removing  the  hull  and  inner  skin  of  the  grain 
and  in  polishing  the  kernel  between  pieces  of  sheepskin  to 
give  it  the  luster  required  by  the  American  trade.  The 
Orientals  dispense  with  this  polishing  process,  and  thus 
retain  a  large  part  of  the  food  value  of  the  rice  which  we  lose. 
The  portion  of  the  rice  kernel  which  is  removed  in  the  pol- 
ishing process  is  more  valuable  relatively  than  that  which 


THE  GRAIN  SORGHUMS  241 

remains,  as  it  contains  nearly  all  the  fat.  Polished  rice  con- 
tains of  digestible  nutrients  4.6  per  cent  of  protein,  72.8  pei 
cent  of  carbohydates,  and  0.4  per  cent  of  fat.  The  by- 
products of  the  mining  industry  are  rice  hulls,  rice  bran, 
and  rice  flour  or  polish.  Rice  hulls  are  of  httle  value  except 
as  fertilizer  or  mulch,  for  they  contain  a  large  percentage  of 
fiber  and  little  nutriment.  Rice  bran  and  rice  polish,  how- 
ever, are  both  valuable  stock  feeds.  Rice  straw  is  about 
equal  in  feeding  value  to  prairie  hay,  and  is  quite  largely 
used  as  rough  feed  for  stock.  It  is  also  used  to  some  extent  in 
the  manufacture  of  straw  hats,  strawboard,  and  other  articles. 

THE  GRAIN  SORGHUMS 

306.  Origin  and  History.  The  sorghums  which  are 
grown  in  various  parts  of  the  world  for  grain  and  forage  for 
the  most  part  have  been  developed  in  Asia  and  Africa.  A 
large  number  of  very  diverse  forms  has  been  produced, 
including  the  many  sweet  or  forage  sorghums,  the  grain- 
bearing  varieties  such  as  kafir,  milo,  and  durra,  and  the 
fiber-producing  type,  represented  by  broomcorn.  The  grain 
sorghums  are  important  crops  for  the  production  of  food  for 
man  and  animals  quite  generally  in  Africa,  India,  and  por- 
tions of  China.  Their  cultivation  in  the  United  States 
dates  back  only  to  about  1875,  though  some  of  the  types  had 
doubtless  been  grown  at  an  earlier  period,  but  had  disap- 
peared from  cultivation. 

307.  Botanical  Description.  The  various  types  of  culti- 
vated sorghums  are  all  grouped  by  botanists  under  the  head 
of  Andropogon  sorghum.  This  original  type  is  still  found 
quite  generally  in  the  warmer  portions  of  the  globe.  In 
general,  the  sorghums  are  large  annual  grasses  with  tall, 
pithy  stalks,  growing  from  4  to  10  feet  high,  and  bearing  the 
seeds  in  a  rather  compact  branching  head  or  panicle.  The 
height  of  the  stalk,  the  shape  of  the  head,  the  size  of  the 
seeds,  and  other  characters  are  decidedly  variable  in  the 


16— 


242 


FIELD  CROPS 


different  types  and  varieties.  Dwarf  forms  which  do  not 
grow  more  than  2  or  3  feet  tall  are  known,  while  giant  types 
reaching  more  than  15  feet  in  height  have  been  imported 
from  Africa.     The  heads  vary  from  the  close,  compact  form 


Figure  &'J.    -^lleuvcd  ui  gru,m  sorghums:  1,  Red  kafir;  2,  Shallu;  3,  Blackhull  kafir; 
4,  White  durra;  5,  Brown  kaoliang;  6,  Yellow  milo;  7,  Dwarf  milo. 

of  the  durras  to  the  wide  spreading  type  of  the  broomcorns. 
The  pith  in  the  stalks  of  the  grain  sorghums  is  dry  or  con- 
tains httle  juice,  while  that  of  the  forage  or  sweet  sorghums 
(sorgos)  is  filled  with  sweet  juice.  The  long  branching 
panicle  separates  the  broomcorns  from  the  other  types  of 
sorghum  with  shorter  branches.    The  sweet  sorghums  are 


TYPES  OF  GRAIN  SORGHUMS  245 

discussed  under  the  heading  of  forage  crops  (Section  412).  As 
the  culture  and  requirements  of  broomcorn  are  quite  similar 
to  those  of  the  grain  sorghums,  that  crop  is  considered  in 
this  chapter. 

308.  The  Types  of  Grain  Sorghums.  The  grain  sorghums 
usually  grown  in  the  United  States  are  of  two  general  types, 
kafir  (kafir  corn)  and  niilo  (milo  maize).  Four  other  types, 
known  as  durra,  feterita,  shallu,  and  kaoliang,  are  occasionally 
grown.  The  kafirs  differ  from  the  other  grain  sorghums  in 
that  the  pith  is  slightly  juicy,  the  peduncles  are  always 
erect,  and  the  panicles  cylindrical.  The  seeds  are  white, 
pink,  or  red.  The  milos  are  less  leafy  than  the  kafirs,  the 
heads  are  ovate,  and  the  peduncles  are  usually  bent  so  that 
the  heads  turn  downward.  The  seeds  are  slightly  flattened 
and  are  usually  yellowish-brown  in  color.  The  ordinary 
type  is  the  yellow  milo.  The  durras  are  quite  similar  to  the 
milos,  but  the  pith  is  always  dry  and  the  seeds  are  decidedly 
flattened.  The  seed  is  white  or  reddish  brown  in  color. 
Feterita  is  an  early  maturing  grain  sorghum  similar  to  durra, 
which  has  recently  become  quite  popular  in  some  sections 
of  Kansas.  The  kaoliangs  and  shallu  are  recently  introduced 
types  and  are  as  yet  of  little  importance. 

309.  Importance  of  the  Sorghums.  The  grain  sorghums 
are  largely  grown  in  India,  the  warmer  portions  of  China, 
and  Africa.  In  the  United  States,  they  are  almost  entirely 
confined  to  the  Great  Plains  area,  the  country  lying  between 
the  98th  meridian  and  the  Rocky  Mountains.  In  western 
Texas,  Oklahoma,  Kansas,  and  Nebraska,  they  are  important 
crops.  Only  the  earliest  maturing  varieties  can  be  grown  as 
far  north  as  South  Dakota,  or  at  the  ordinary  elevations  in 
New  Mexico  and  Colorado.  Sorghums  are  grown  to  some 
extent  in  the  interior  valleys  of  California,  the  type  most 
common  there  being  white  durra,  locally  known  as  Egyptian 
corn.  The  value  of  the  grain  sorghum  lies  in  its  ability  to 
resist  drought  and  to  mature  a  crop  of  grain  with  little  rain- 


244 


FIELD  CROPS 


fall.  It  supplies  a  cultivated  crop  to  use  in  rotation  with  the 
small  grains  in  sections  where  the  production  of  corn  is  un- 
certain, and  takes  the  place  of  that  grain  for  feeding  to  stock. 
The  average  area  devoted  to  the  grain  sorghums  in  Kansas  in 
the  three  years  from  1915  to  1917  was  1,600,000  acres.  In 
the  same  years,  Oklahoma  averaged  1,245,000  acres  of  these 


« 

m.1LJk 

^S- 

-^ 

L-ii^itMiM^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^B^ . 

%<^  >     ^M' 

1 

i 

■FT 

1 

H 

i 

Figure  00 — Harvesting  kafir  for  foratre  w  itli  a  rorn  binder. 


crops  and  Texas  averaged  1,251,000  acres.  The  average 
production  of  these  three  states  and  of  Colorado,  New 
Mexico,  and  Arizona  is  81,395,000  bushels,  or  one  half  more 
than  the  country's  total  production  of  rye  in  the  same  years. 
310.  Methods  of  Growing  the  Crop.  The  usual  methods 
of  preparing  the  land,  planting  the  seed,  and  cultivating  the 
grain  sorghums  are  not  different  from  those  employed  in  the 
same  district  for  the  corn  crop,  except  that  the  seed  is  sown 
more  thickly  in  the  rows.  The  plants  should  stand  about 
4  to  6  inches  apart  for  the  best  yield  of  grain  and  forage. 
From  4  to  6  pounds  of  seed  will  plant  an  acre.  The  sorghums 
are  usually  planted  a  little  later  than  corn,  as  they  are  not 
quite  as  resistant  to  cold  and  grow  very  slowly  till  warm, 
settled  weather,    The  crop  is  usually  harvested  by  cutting  it 


BROOMCORN  245 

with  the  corn  binder  and  shocking  it  Uke  corn,  or  by  cutting 
the  heads  from  the  stalks  with  knives  or  with  some  form  of 
header.  The  shocked  sorghum  may  then  be  fed  to  stock  Uke 
corn  fodder,  or  it  may  be  threshed  Uke  small  grain.  The 
kafir  and  milo  heads  may  be  stored  in  cribs  like  corn  and  fed 
without  threshing,  or  they  may  be  threshed  like  wheat  or 
oats  and  only  the  threshed  grain  used  for  feeding. 

311.  Value  of  the  Grain.  Most  of  the  grain  sorghum 
crop  is  used  for  feeding  to  stock,  for  which  purpose  it  is 
nearly  as  valuable  as  corn.  The  seed  is  fed  either  whole  or 
crushed;  slightly  better  results  are  usually  obtained  from  the 
crushed  grain.  The  grain  sorghums  make  up  a  large  part 
of  the  prepared  poultry  feeds  which  are  on  the  market,  con- 
siderable quantities  being  used  annually  for  this  purpose. 
Only  a  small  portion  of  the  crop  is  used  for  human  food, 
though  very  palatable  breakfast  foods,  bread,  and  pan- 
cakes may  be  prepared  from  kafir  and  milo.  The  stalks 
and  leaves  of  kafir,  when  properly  cured,  are  fully  as  good 
for  forage  as  the  same  parts  of  the  corn  plant.  Milo  is  less 
leafy  than  kafir  and  the  stalks  are  less  palatable,  so  that 
milo  stover  is  less  valuable  than  that  from  kafir. 

BROOMCORN 

312.  Culture.  Broomcorn  is  not  a  grain  crop  nor  can  it 
be  included  with  any  other  important  class  of  crops,  but  it  is 
so  closely  related  to  the  grain  sorghums  that  it  can  best  be 
discussed  with  them.  The  methods  of  growing  the  crop 
are  not  different  from  those  employed  in  the  production  of 
corn  and  the  grain  sorghums.  Broomcorn  is  of  two  general 
types,  the  standard  and  the  dwarf.  Standard  broomcorn 
grows  from  8  to  10  feet  high  and  produces  a  long,  slender, 
rather  flexible  brush;  dwarf  broomcorn  grows  from  4  to  6 
feet  high  and  usually  produces  a  shorter,  stiff er  brush.  The 
crop  is  grown  principally  in  Illinois,  Missouri,  Kansas,  and 
Oklahoma;  the  standard  type  is  more  largely  grown  in  cen- 


246  FIELD  CROPS 

tral  Illinois  than  elsewhere.  It  requires  a  fertile  soil  and 
plenty  of  moisture,  while  dwarf  broomcorn  produces  brush 
of  the  best  quaUty  on  light  sandy  land.  Dwarf  broomcorn 
resists  drought  better  than  the  standard,  and  is  grown  most 
extensively  in  Kansas  and  Oklahoma.  The  usual  width  be- 
tween rows  of  the  standard  is  3J/^  feet,  with  the  plants  3 
inches  apart  in  the  row;  dwarf  broomcorn  is  planted  in  rows 
3  feet  apart  with  the  plants  2  inches  apart  in  the  row.  From 
3  to  5  pounds  of  seed  are  planted  to  the  acre. 

313.  Harvesting.  Dwarf  broomcorn  is  harvested  by 
pulling  the  heads  from  the  stalks  bj^  hand  when  they  are  in 
bloom,  as  the  brush  is  of  inferior  quality  when  the  seeds 
mature.  The  brush  is  then  thrown  into  wagons  and  hauled 
to  the  thresher.  Standard  broomcorn  is  harvested  by 
''tabHng"  before  the  heads  are  removed  from  the  stalks. 
In  tabling,  the  stalks  are  bent  oVer  about  2)^  feet  from  the 
ground,  two  rows  being  bent  together  so  that  the  heads  of 
each  extend  about  2  feet  beyond  the  other.  The  brush  is 
removed  by  cutting  the  stalk  with  a  small  knife,  about  6 
inches  below  the  base  of  the  head.  The  heads  are  laid  in 
bunches  on  the  "tables"  as  they  are  cut  and  are  then  hauled 
to  the  thresher.  The  seed  is  removed  from  the  brush  by  a 
machine  specially  built  for  the  purpose.  The  heads  are 
carried  to  the  cylinders  on  a  toothed  belt  which  runs  at  an 
angle  to  them  so  that  the  heads  do  not  go  completely  between 
them.  The  upper  portion  of  the  heads  passes  between  the 
cylinders  sufficiently  to  remove  the  seed,  and  the  brush  is 
deposited  on  a  table  at  the  other  end  of  the  machine,  from 
which  it  is  taken  to  the  curing  shed.  In  harvesting,  poorly 
formed  heads  should  be  left  in  the  field,  while  crooked  or 
discolored  brush  should  be  sorted  out  in  threshing. 

314.  Curing  and  Marketing.  The  curing  is  done  in  a 
well- ventilated  shed  which  may  be  used  for  storing  machinery 
or  for  other  purposes  during  most  of  the  year.  The  cleaned 
brush  is  placed  on  temporary  slatted  racks  in  layers  2  or  3 


BUCKWHEAT  247 

inches  deep,  with  an  inch  or  two  of  air  space  between  the 
layers.  Curing  under  cover  is  necessary  to  retain  the  de- 
sirable green  color  of  the  brush,  and  to  prevent  it  from  be- 
coming brittle  or  discolored.  From  two  to  four  weeks  of 
dry  weather  are  required  for  curing,  after  which  the  brush 
should  be  neatly  piled  together  or  ''bulked"  to  prevent 
])leaching.  After  it  is  thoroughly  diy,  it  is  ready  for  baling. 
Broomcorn  goes  to  market  in  bales  of  from  300  to  400  pounds 
in  weight,  the  baling  being  done  by  horse-power  presses. 
The  price  varies  greatly  with  the  size  of  the  total  crop  and 
the  length  and  quality  of  the  brush.  It  ranges  ordinarily 
from  $50  to  $100  a  ton,  though  it  may  reach  $200  or  more  in 
years  when  the  crop  is  short.  A  good  crop  of  dwarf  brush  is 
about  400  or  500  pounds  to  the  acre,  while  standard  broom- 
corn  will  produce  from  600  to  800  pounds. 

BUCKWHEAT 

315.  Origin  and  History.  Buckwheat  is  one  of  the  few 
grains  which  do  not  belong  to  the  grass  family,  flax  being 
the  only  other  one  which  is  of  importance  in  America.  It 
is  a  member  of  the  dock  or  buckwheat  family,  the  Poly- 
gonaceae,  which  includes  few  useful  plants,  but  numer- 
ous bad  weeds  such  as  the  docks,  smartweeds,  and  knot- 
weeds.  A  peculiarity  of  this  family  is  the  three-angled 
(rarely  four-angled)  seeds.  The  ordinary  buckwheat,  Fago- 
pyrum  esculentum,  is  a  native  of  the  Amur  River  district  of 
Manchuria,  where  it  is  still  found  growing  wild.  A  type 
which  is  grown  to  some  extent  in  Maine  and  Vermont  is  the 
Tartary  buckwheat,  or  ''India  wheat,"  Fagopyrum  tartar- 
icum,  with  smaller  seeds,  broader  leaves,  and  more  slender 
growth.  This  plant  is  a  native  of  the  plains  in  the  interior 
of  Siberia  and  Tartary.  It  was  brought  from  Europe  to 
the  United  States  by  the  colonists.  The  name  buckwheat 
is  supposed  to  have  })een  originally  "beech-wheat"  from  the 
resemblance  of  the  grain  to  small  beech  nuts. 


248  FIELD  CROPS 

316.  Botanical  Description.  The  buckwheat  plant  is  en- 
tirely different  from  that  of  the  cereals,  consisting  of  a  single 
branching,  succulent  stem,  broad  leaves,  and  a  main  root 
with  several  branches.  The  plant  grows  usually  about  3 
feet  tall,  with  several  branches,  each  of  which  ends  in  a  flat- 
topped  cluster  of  flowers.    These  clusters  also  spring  from  the 


^ 


Figure  91 — Grains  of  the  two  most  common  varieties  of  buckwheat:   Japanese 
at  the  left,  SilverhuU  at  the  right. 

axils  of  the  leaves.  The  leaves  are  alternate,  triangular,  and 
about  as  broad  at  the  base  as  they  are  long,  the  width  vary- 
ing from  2  to  4  inches.  The  flowers  are  white  or  pinkish- 
white,  without  petals,  but  with  a  five-parted  calyx,  eight 
stamens,  and  a  three-parted  pistil.  The  flower  produces  a 
single  three-angled  seed,  grayish  or  brown  in  color,  about 
one  tenth  of  an  inch  long. 

317.  Varieties.  The  most  common  varieties  of  the  ordi- 
nary buckwheat  are  the  Japanese  and  the  Silverhull.  These 
differ  mainly  in  size  and  color.  Silverhull  is  smaller  and 
plumper  and  lighter  in  color  than  Japanese.  Opinions  differ 
as  to  which  produces  the  more  grain  and  the  better  quality 
of  flour.  Tartary  buckwheat  is  smaller  than  the  ordinary 
type  and,  according  to  growers  in  Maine,  is  somewhat  hardier. 
It  probably  yields  less  than  Japanese  and  Silverhull. 


IMPORTANCE  OF  BUCKWHEAT  249 

318.  Importance.  The  entire  area  devoted  to  buckwheat 
in  the  United  States  is  only  about  800,000  acres  annually, 
though  in  1917  it  was  slightly  over  1,000,000  acres.  About 
three  fourths  of  the  crops  is  grown  in  New  York  and  Penn- 
sylvania. The  average  production  of  the  United  States  for 
the  ten  years  from  1908  to  1917,  inclusive,  was  16,260,000 
bushels,  of  which  New  York  grew  5,732,000  bushels  and 
Pennsylvania  5,598,000  bushels.  No  other  state  produced 
more  than  a  million  bushels,  the  states  of  largest  produc- 
tion being  West  Virginia,  Virginia,  and  Michigan.  Except 
in  New  York  and  Pennsylvania,  buckwheat  cannot  be  regard- 
ed as  a  staple  crop,  but  is  generally  sown  as  a  filler  or  catch 
crop  on  land  where  corn  or  some  other  early  planted  crop 
has  failed.  It  yields  well  on  poor  land,  hence  it  is  grown 
quite  generally  on  rocky  hillsides  and  other  dry  locations. 
The  best  yield  is  produced  on  sandy  loam  soils.  The  chief 
value  of  buckwheat  lies  in  its  quick  maturity,  enabling  it  to 
ripen  its  seed  when  sown  as  late  as  July  1,  thus  giving  an 
opportunity  to  get  some  return  from  fields  where  previous 
crops  have  been  destroyed  by  floods  or  from  other  causes. 
As  it  makes  a  quick,  rank  growth,  it  is  also  an  excellent  crop 
for  clearing  land  of  weeds  and  for  green  manure. 

319.  Method  of  Cultivation.  Buckwheat  should  be  sown 
on  well-prepared  land  during  the  latter  part  of  May  or  in 
June.  Seeding  as  late  as  July  1  is  possible  where  the  grow- 
ing season  is  not  too  short.  The  usual  rate  of  seeding  is 
about  3  or  4  pecks  to  the  acre.  The  seed  may  be  sown  broad- 
cast or  with  the  grain  drill.  If  sown  broadcast,  it  should  be 
well  covered  with  the  harrow.  Cutting  is  usually  delayed 
till  the  approach  of  cold  weather,  as  the  plants  continue  to 
bloom  and  produce  seed  until  killed  by  frost.  The  usual 
method  of  cutting  is  with  the  self-rake  reaper,  the  grain 
being  cured  in  the  bunches  and  not  tied  into  bundles.  These 
bunches  are  often  set  up  into  shocks  to  lessen  the  injury  from 
weathering.     Cutting  with  the  grain  binder  is  sometimes 


250  FIELD  CROPS 

(Dracticed.  The  bundles  should  be  made  small  and  should  be 
iet  up  in  long  shocks  to  faciHtate  curing.  The  grain  is  usu- 
ally hauled  direct  from  the  field  to  the  threshing  machine  and 
threshed,  because  it  is  Ukely  to  mold  if  stacked. 

320.  Uses.  Buckwheat  is  most  largely  used  for  the  man- 
ufacture of  pancake  flour.  In  some  sections,  however,  it  is 
quite  extensively  used  for  feeding  to  stock.  For  hogs,  it  is 
ground  and  bolted  to  remove  the  hulls,  but  this  extra  work 
is  hardly  necessary  when  the  grain  is  fed  to  other  animals. 
Buckwheat  is  also  an  excellent  poultry  feed.  The  straw 
is  coarse  and  stiff,  so  that  it  is  of  little  value  except  as 
bedding  or  to  make  manure.  The  buckwheat  plant  is  a 
large  producer  of  honey,  small  fields  often  being  sown  for 
bee  pasture. 

THE  MILLETS 

321.  Types  of  Millet.  The  term  ''millet"  includes  a 
number  of  very  different  types  of  grasses,  though  it  is  gen- 
erally applied  in  this  country  to  two  plants,  the  foxtail  mil- 
lets, Chaetochloa  italica,  and  the  broomcorn,  or  hog,  millets, 
Panicum  miliaceum.  Both  these  plants  probablj^  originated 
in  southwestern  Asia,  and  have  been  cultivated  there  since 
very  early  times.  They  have  been  used  as  food  plants  for 
many  centuries,  and  are  still  important  items  of  food  in  the 
interior  of  China  and  in  other  portions  of  Asia,  as  well  as  in 
Russia.  The  foxtail  millets  are  more  generally  grown  in  this 
country  for  forage  than  for  grain.  They  are  more  fully  dis- 
cussed in  Section  424. 

322.  Broomcorn  Millet.  Broomcorn,  or  hog,  millet, 
sometimes  known  as  proso,  has  been  grown  in  the  United 
States  only  in  recent  years,  having  been  introduced  by  immi- 
grants from  Russia.  The  plant  grows  from  1  to  2  feet  high,  . 
with  numerous  broad,  hairy  leaves  and  stiff,  hollow  stems. 
The  heads  are  usually  loose,  open  panicles  resembling  small 
heads  of  broomcorn,  though  in  some  varieties  the  branches 


BROOMCORN  MILLET 


251 


of  the  panicle  are  much  shorter,  making  a  close  head  of 
the  "lump"  type.  The  cultivation  of  this  crop  is  quite 
closely  confined  to  the  drier  regions  of  the  Northwest,  North 
and  South  Dakota  producing  most  of  the  broomcorn  millet 
grown  in  the  United 
States.  The  chief  val- 
ue of  the  crop  lies  in 
its  ability  to  resist 
drought  and  to  mature 
in  a  short  season,  the 
grain  ripening  in  from 
60  to  75  days  from 
the  time  of  seeding. 

The  method  of 
growing  these  millets 
is  not  different  from 
that  employed  in  the 
cultivation  of  other 
small  grains.  They 
are  usually  sown  about 
June  1,  and  are  ready 
to  harvest  in  August. 
The  proper  rate  of 
seeding  is  from  2  to  3 
pecks  to  the  acre. 
The  crop  is  cut  with  the  mower  when  the  seed  is  in  the  hard 
dough  stage,  and  is  handled  like  hay.  When  the  growth 
is  tall  enough,  the  grain  binder  may  be  used.  The  grain 
may  be  threshed  with  the  ordinaiy  threshing  machinery. 
It  makes  a  good  feed  to  mix  with  other  grains  for  cattle, 
sheep,  and  hogs,  and  is  also  excellent  for  poultry.  Hay 
made  from  this  class  of  millet  is  much  less  valuable  than 
that  from  the  foxtail  type,  because  the  stems  are  coarse  and 
the  leaves  and  stems  are  covered  with  coarse  hairs,  so  that 
it  is  not  relished  by  stock. 


Figure  92 — Heads  of  two  types  of  broomcorn  millet. 


252  FIELD  CROPS 

323.  Varieties.  The  varieties  of  broomcorn  millet  are 
usually  known  by  the  shape  of  the  head,  the  color  of  the  seed, 
or  the  locality  from  which  they  originally  come.  Among 
the  best  and  most  popular  varieties  are  the  Black  Voronezh 
and  Red  Orenburg. 

LABORATORY  AND  FIELD  EXERCLSES 

It  is  desirable  that  laboratory  specimens  of  the  plants  discussed 
in  this  chapter  or  the  threshed  grain  or  both  plants  and  grain  be  avail- 
able for  class  use,  so  that  they  may  be  studied  and  the  members  of  the 
class  enabled  to  familiarize  themselves  with  these  little  known  or  local 
crops.  If  any  of  these  crops  are  important  in  the  locality,  careful 
studies  of  them  should  be  made  and  exercises  in  judging  given  as  sug- 
gested for  the  other  grains. 

REFERENCES 

Cyclopedia  of  American  Agriculture,  Vol.  II,  Bailey. 

Farm  Crops,  Burkett. 

The  Small  Grains,  Carleton. 

Southern  Field  Crops,  Duggar. 

Cereals  in  America,  Hunt. 

Field  Crop  Production,  Livingston. 

The  Corn  Crops,  Montgomery. 

Productive  Farm  Crops,  Montgomery. 

Farmers'  Bulletins: 

688.  The  Culture  of  Rice  in  California. 

448.  Better  Grain  Sorghum  Crops. 

552.  Kafir  as  a  Grain  Crop. 

559.  Use  of  Corn,  Kafir,  and  Co\\T3eas  in  the  Home. 

686.  Uses  of  Sorghum  Grain. 

724.  The  Feeding  of  Grain  Sorghums  to  Live  Stock. 

827.  Shallu,  or  ''EgA^tian  Wheat." 

768.  Dwarf  Broomcorn. 

958.  Standard  Broomcorn. 


PART  III— FORAGE  CROPS 


CHAPTER  X 
INTRODUCTION 

324.  Definitions.  A  forage  crop  is  any  crop  the  leaves 
or  stems  or  both  of  which  are  used  either  green  or  dried  for 
feeding  to  stock.  The  green  plants  may  be  grazed,  when 
they  constitute  pasture,  or  they  may  be  cut  and  fed  green, 
as  a  soiling  crop.  The  practice  of  feeding  in  this  manner  is 
called  soiling.  Hay  is  the  cured  or  dried  stems  and  leaves 
of  the  finer  grasses  and  other  forage  plants.  Fodder  is  the 
cured  stems  and  leaves  of  corn,  sorghum,  or  other  coarse  « 
plants,  cut  just  before  maturity  and  fed  without  removing 
the  grain.  Stover  is  corn  or  other  fodder  from  which  the 
grain  has  been  removed.  Straw  is  the  stems  and  leaves  of 
grain  crops  from  which  the  seed  has  been  removed;  it  cor- 
responds to  the  stover  of  the  corn  plant.  Certain  forage 
plants,  of  which  corn  is  the  principal  one,  may  be  cut  green 
and  stored  in  a  tight  enclosure  built  for  the  purpose  (a  silo), 
or  occasionally  they  may  be  stacked  without  curing.  In 
either  case,  the  product  is  known  as  silage. 

A  grass  is  any  member  of  the  great  order  of  plants  known 
as  the  Gramineae,  which  includes  not  only  the  grasses  as  we 
commonly  know  them,  but  the  cereals  and  many  weedy 
plants  as  well.  In  the  narrower  sense  in  which  it  is  com- 
monly used,  the  term  includes  only  the  meadow  and  pasture 
plants  of  this  family,  though  it  is  sometimes  used  as  a  general 
term  for  any  plant  grown  in  meadows  or  pastures,  whether 
a  true  grass  or  not.     A  legume  is  a  plant  of  the  other  great 

253 


254  FIELD  CROPS 

group  ot  forage  plants,  the  Leguminoseae,  which  includes  the 
Clovers,  alfalfa,  cowpea,  soy  bean,  and  many  others. 

325.  Importance  of  Forage  Crops.  The  total  area  of  the 
farms  in  the  United  States,  according  to  the  Census  of  1910, 
was  878,798,325  acres,  while  the  area  of  improved  lands  was 
478,451,750  acres.  Of  this  area  of  improved  lands,  311,- 
293,382  acres  were  in  harvested  crops,  and  167,158,368  in 
woodlands,  pastures,  and  orchards.  The  improved  wood- 
lands are  practically  all  pastured,  while  the  acreage  in 
orchards  is  comparatively  small.  It  is  safe,  therefore,  to 
assume  that  155,000,000  acres  are  used  for  pasture.  Of  the 
area  in  harvested  crops,  72,280,776  acres,  or  about  23  per 
cent,  were  devoted  to  hay  and  other  forage  production.  In 
addition,  a  very  large  part  of  the  area  not  Hsted  in  farms, 
about  80  per  cent  of  the  total  area  of  the  United  States,  is 
used  as  pasture,  including  the  range  lands  of  the  western 
prairies,  the  mountain  slopes  and  valleys,  and  other  lands  not 
devoted  to  farming  or  too  rough  for  improvement.  The  total 
acreage  in  harvested  forage  crops  and  improved  pastures  was 
something  like  227,000,000  acres,  as  compared  with  98,383,- 
000  acres  in  corn  and  93,000,000  acres  in  other  grain  crops.i 

326.  The  Classes  of  Forage  Crops.  Practically  all  our 
forage  plants  belong  to  one  or  the  other  of  the  two  great 
famines,  the  grasses  and  the  legumes.  The  more  important 
forage  grasses  are  perennial,  and  are  used  either  for  pasture 
or  meadow.  These  include  timothy,  redtop,  Kentucky  blue 
grass,  orchard  grass,  Johnson  grass,  and  many  others.  The 
annual  forage  grasses  are  used  either  as  hay  or  as  soiling 
crops,  though  they  may  occasionally  be  utilized  as  temporary 
pastures.  They  include  the  millets  and  sorghums,  and  also 
the  cereals  that  are  sown  for  hay  production  in  some  sections 
of  the  United  States.     The  leguminous  forage  plants  may  also 

lit  may  be  of  interest  to  the  student  to  compare  the  above  percentages  with 
corresponding  figures  for  older  settled  countries,  as  Englfind  and  Germany.  See 
Agricultural  Economics,  by  H.  C.  Taylor,  and  the  Cyclopedia  of  American  Agricul- 
ture for  data. , 


FORAGE  PRODUCTIOX 


be  divided  into  perennials  and  annuals,  the  former  class 
including  such  plants  as  alfalfa  and  the  clovers^  and  the  latter 
the  cowpea,  soy  bean,  field  pea,  and  vetch.  A  few  miscel- 
laneous forage  crops,  usually  used  for  soiling  or  pasture  pur- 
poses, are  included  in  the  mustard  family,  the  Crucifereae. 
These  are  rape,  kale,  cabbage,  and  kohl-rabi.  Other  plants 
are  occasionally  used  as  forage  crops,  but  they  are  com- 
paratively unimportant. 

327.  Forage  Production  in  the  United  States.  The  more 
important  kinds  of  forage  are  indicated  in  Table  XIV,  which 
shows  the  acreage,  production,  and  value  of  the  different 
classes  of  forage  produced  in  the  United  States  in  1909.  This 
table  shows  that  the  most  important  class  of  forage  is  mixed 
timothy  and  clover  hay.  Next  to  this  in  acreage  and  pro- 
duction ranks  the  class  which  includes  wild,  salt,  and  prairie 
hay.  Timothy  hay  without  an  admixture  of  clover  ranked 
third  in  acreage  and  production  and  second  in  value.  Other 
important  classes  of  forage  are  alfalfa  hay,  coarse  forage 
(fodder  and  silage  corn,  sorghum,  etc.),  grains  cut  green  for 

Table  XTV.     Total  acreage^  production,  and  value  of  hay  and  other 
forage  in  the  United  States,  Census  of  1910. 


Acres 
harvested 

Production 

(tons) 

Value 

Timothy  alone 

14,675,375 

19,536,644 

2,442,836 

4,702,230 

1,113,179 

4,210,470 

16,868,374 

4,254,177 

4,093,256 

18,916 

17,972,678 
24,742,868 

3,158,840 
11,850,106 

1,539,578 

4,160,656 
18,117,043 

5,277,737 

10,073,407 

254,533 

$187,995,829 

Timothy  and  clover  mixed 
Clover  alone. .      .    . 

257,215,548 
29,328,801 

Alfalfa 

93,020,739 

Millet  or  Hungarian  grass. . 

Other   tame   or   cultivated 

grasses 

11,107,259 
44,375,185 

Wild,  salt  or  prairie  grasses 
Grains,  cut  green 

89,907,594 
61,231,873 

Coarse  forage 

47,112,764 

Root  forage 

1,180,545 

Total  forage 

71,915,457 

97,147,446 

$822,476,137 

1  Red  clover  is  ordinarily  a  biennial. 


^56  FIELD  CROPS 

hay,  ''other  tame  grasses,"  and  clover  hay.  Under  the  gen- 
eral term  ''other  tame  grasses"  are  included  all  the  peren- 
nial grasses  other  than  timothy. 

The  larger  part  of  the  forage  is  produced  in  the  North 
Central  states.  This  group,  according  to  the  Census  classi- 
fication, extends  from  Michigan  and  Ohio  to  Kansas,  Neb- 

lOWA  — i^^^— ^B— i^^^^— ^^— ^^^—  8.05% 

N.  Y.  MM^^il^—ii^^^^^l^^^M^l^— ^  7.26% 

MINN.      ^m^^^mmama^^^i^K^mm^mmmmmi^^  6.22% 

KANSAS     li^l— ^^^M— IB^^I^^  6.10% 

NEB.  ^K^^^^mm^^mm^m^^^m^am^^  5.96% 

WIS.  ^i^^^Kma^^mK^ma^^^i^^m  5.15% 

OHIO  mamm^a^K^am^i^mi^mt^^mm  4.65% 

iLUNOis  w^mmm^^^mm^^^mm^m  4.48% 

CALIF.  ^^^i^m^^^^^^^mmmmm  4.45% 

MO.  ^t^m^Km^^K^mma^^mm  4.21% 

PENN.  mmmmama^mms^m^^^  3.78% 

S.  DAK.  m^^a^m^^^^^t^^  3.76% 

MICH.  wm^^m^m^^^^mm^am  3.74% 

Figure  93. — Percentage  of  the  hay  and  other  forage  crops  of  the  United  States 
produced  in  each  of  the  leading  states,  Census  of  1910. 

raska,  and  the  Dakotas.  This  district  includes  58  per  cent 
of  the  acreage  and  production  and  48  per  cent  of  the  value 
of  all  forage  crops  produced  in  the  United  States.  The 
leading  states  in  the  production  of  forage  are  shown  graphical- 
ly in  Figure  93. 

328.  Uses  of  Forage  Crops.  The  most  important  use  of 
forage  crops  is  as  bulky  feed  for  our  domestic  animals,  either 
in  succulent  or  dry  form.  Horses,  cattle,  and  sheep  are 
naturally  adapted  to  the  consumption  of  large  quantities  of 
forage,  and  pork  can  be  produced  most  profitably  when  hogs 
are  provided  with  abundant  pasturage.  Thus  forage  crops 
are  very  important  in  our  farm  economy.  They  enter  more 
largely  into  the  production  of  beef  and  milk  in  cattle  and  of 
mutton  and  wool  in  sheep,  as  well  as  of  energy  in  horses, 
than  the  grains.  In  general,  our  farm  animals  are  produced 
and  maintained  largety  on  forage,  grains  being  used  only  at 
certain  times,  as  in  the  fattening  of  sheep  and  cattle,  when 
dorses  are  at  hard  work,  or  when  cows  are  producing  milk. 


ESSENTIALS  OF  FORAGE  257 

Forage  plants  are  also  important  as  soil  renovators, 
adding  large  quantities  of  vegetable  matter  to  the  soil  in  the 
form  of  decaying  roots  and  stems.  The  perennial  legumi- 
nous plants  penetrate  to  a  great  depth  and  loosen  and  aerate 
the  subsoil,  as  well  as  bring  up  plant  food  from  greater  depths 
than  annual  crops.  A  part  of  this  plant  food  remains  near 
the  surface  when  the  roots  and  stubble  decay,  or  it  is  returned 
to  the  land  in  the  form  of  manure.  In  this  and  in  other  ways, 
forage  crops  add  to  the  fertility  or  improve  the  physical  con- 
dition of  the  soil.  Such  annual  crops  as  fodder  corn  and 
millet,  however,  draw  rather  heavily  on  the  available  supply 
of  plant  food  and  leave  little  vegetable  matter  behind,  while 
they  may  injure  the  physical  condition  of  the  soil  by  reduc- 
ing the  moisture  supply  late  in  the  season.  The  grasses  and 
clovers,  particularly  the  more  permanent  kinds,  serve  as 
cover  crops  to  prevent  the  washing  and  erosion  of  the  soil, 
thus  preventing  loss  of  fertility.  On  hillsides,  embankments, 
and  similar  locations,  they  thus  perform  a  very  valuable 
work.  Certain  kinds  also  add  much  to  the  beauty  of  the 
landscape  and  to  the  home  surroundings  in  the  city  as  well 
as  in  the  country,  by  covering  the  earth  with  a  carpet  of 
green  during  the  summer  season. 

329.  Essentials  of  a  Forage  Crop.  One  of  the  most 
important  essentials  of  a  forage  crop  is  that  it  must  be 
nutritious;  that  is,  it  must  contain  a  considerable  quantity 
of  food  for  animals.  Though  the  proportion  of  nutriment  is 
less  than  in  the  grains,  forage  crops  add  bulk  to  the  ration  of 
ruminants,  and  aid  in  the  digestion  of  more  concentrated 
feeds.  A  good  forage  crop  must  also  be  palatable;  for,  no 
matter  how  nutritious  it  is,  if  it  is  not  readily  eaten  by 
animals,  it  is  valueless  for  the  purpose.  Some  plants  have  a 
pecuUar  and  offensive  odor,  or  the  stems  and  leaves  are 
covered  with  hairs,  or  for  some  other  reason  animals  do  not 
eat  them  readily,  though  they  may  possess  every  other  req- 
uisite of  a  good  forage  crop.     Productiveness  is  likewise 


258 


FIELD  CROPS 


Table  X  V.     Total  dry  viatter  and  digestible  nutrients  in  100  pounds 
oj  the  leading  forage  crops.  ^ 


Dried  forage 

Corn  fodder 

Corn  stover 

Timothy  hay 

Orchard  grass 

Redtop 

Kentucky  blue  grass. . 

Johnson  grass 

Oat  hay 

Oat  and  pea  hay 

Red  clover 

Crimson  clover 

Soy  bean 

Cowpea 

Alfalfa 

Wheat  straw 

Oat  straw 

Green  forage 

Corn  silage 

Fodder  corn 

Sorghum 

Pasture  grass 

Kentucky  blue  grass. , 

Timothy 

Rye  forage 

Oat  forage 

Bermuda  grass 

Hungarian  millet 

Red  clover 

Alfalfa 

Cowpea 

Soy  bean 

Field  pea 

Roots,  etc. 

Mangel 

Turnip 

Rutabaga 

Rape 

Concentrates 

Corn,  dent 

Wheat  bran 


Total  dry 
matter  in 
100  pounds 


Lbs. 
91.0 
90.6 
88.4 
88.4 
90.2 
86.8 
89.9 
88.0 
83.4 
87.1 
89.4 
91.4 
90.3 
91.4 
92.9 
88.5 

26.3 
21.9 
22.8 
20.0 
31.6 
37.5 
21.3 
26.1 
33.2 
27.6 
25.3 
26.2 
22.0 
27.1 
27.9 

9.4 

9.5 

10.9 

16.7 

89.5 
89.9 


Digostible  nutrients  in  100  pounda 


Crude         Carbohy- 
protein  dratea 


Lbs. 
3.5 
2.2 
3.0 
4.7 
4.6 
4.7 
2.9 
4.5 
8.3 
7.6 
9.7 
11.7 
13.1 
10.6 
0.7 
1.0 

1.1 
1.0 
0.6 
2.5 
2.3 
1.5 
2.1 
2.3 
1.4 
1.9 
3.3 
2.7 
1.8 
2.6 
2.8 

0.8 
1.0 
1.0 
2.6 

7.5 
12.5 


Lbs. 
51.7 
47.8 
42.8 
41.1 
45.9 
43.5 
45.0 
38.1 
37.1 
39.3 
36.8 
39.2 
33.7 
39.0 
39.6 
42.6 

15.0 
12.8 
11.6 
10.1 
14.8 
19.3 
12.2 
11.8 
17.0 
14.8 
10.4 
13.0 
10.1 
11.0 
13.1 

6.4 

6.0 

7.7 

10.0 

67.8 
41.6 


Fat 


Lbs. 
1.5 
1.0 
1.2 
1.6 
1.2 
1.5 
1.0 
1.7 
1.5 
1.8 
1.0 
1.2 
1.0 
0.6 
0.4 
0.9 

0.7 
0.4 
0.5 
0.5 
0.6 
0.6 
0.5 
0.8 
0.5 
0.6 
0.4 
0.6 
0.6 
0.7 
0.9 

0.1 
0.2 
0.3 
0.3 

4.6 
3.0 


iThese  figures  are  based  on  Henry  and  Morrison's  Feeds  and  Feeding. 


FEED  VALUES  OF  FORAGE  CROPS  259 

important,  for  it  is  necessary  that  our  forage  crops  yield 
well  in  order  to  obtain  the  largest  returns  from  a  given  area 
and  to  support  the  largest  possible  number  of  animals. 

A  good  forage  crop  must  have  good  seed  habits;  that  is, 
the  seed  must  be  produced  quite  abundantly,  be  easily  har- 
vested, and  retain  its  germinating  power  reasonably  w^ell, 
in  order  that  it  may  not  be  too  expensive  to  justify  its  com- 
mon use.  It  must  be  easily  eradicated  when  it  is  desirable 
to  replace  it  with  some  other  crop.  A  perennial  forage 
plant  to  be  used  in  meadow^s  and  pastures  must  be  vigorous 
and  hardy  enough  to  cope  successfully  with  weeds  and  other 
unfavorable  conditions  of  growth,  yet  its  habit  of  growth 
must  be  such  that  it  can  be  destroyed  readily  when  the  land 
is  plowed  and  planted  to  some  other  crop.  A  few  of  our 
good  forage  grasses  are  desirable  in  every  particular  except 
this,  but  their  usefulness  is  largely  limited  on  account  of 
the  difficulty  of  disposing  of  them  when  desirable.  Among 
crops  of  this  class  may  be  mentioned  quack  grass,  Johnson 
grass,  and  Bermuda  grass. 

330.  Comparative  Feeding  Values  of  Different  Forage 
Crops.  The  amounts  of  digestible  nutrients  in  100  pounds  of 
the  more  important  forage  plants  are  shown  in  the  ac- 
companying table.  These  figures  are  presented  here  for  pur- 
poses of  comparison,  and  reference  will  be  made  to  them 
from  time  to  time  in  the  pages  which  follow.  The  digestible 
nutrients  in  corn  and  in  wheat  bran  are  also  presented. 

REFERENCES 

Cyclopedia  of  American  Agriculture,  Vol.  II,  Bailey. 

Grasses  of  North  America,  Beal. 

Farm  Crops,  Burkett. 

Forage  and  Fiber  Crops  in  America,  Hunt. 

Productive  Farm  Crops,  Montgomery. 

Forage  Crops  and  Their  Culture,  Piper. 

Farm  Grasses  of  the  United  States,  Spillman. 

Forage  Crops,  Voorhees. 

Meadows  and  Pastures,  Wing. 


CHAPTER  XI 
THE  MAKING  OF  A  MEADOW 

331.  The  Essentials  of  a  Good  Meadow.     One  of  the 

first  essentials  of  a  good  meadow  is  that  it  be  composed  of 
plants  that  cure  readily  into  hay,  with  as  little  loss  as  possible 
of  leaves  and  other  tender  parts.  Slowness  in  curing  is 
likely  to  result  in  moldy  or  spoiled  hay,  while  those  plants 
which  become  brittle  'in  curing  break  up  readily  in  handling 
and  a  large  part  of  the  best  food  material  is  lost.  The 
meadow  should  produce  a  good  yield  of  palatable  and  nutri- 
tious hay.  The  plants  which  compose  it  should  be  thick 
enough  to  keep  down  weeds  and  to  prevent  the  stems  from 
growing  so  coarse  that  they  are  not  eaten  readily  by  stock. 
They  should  form  a  smooth,  even  turf  rather  than  a  bunchy 
one,  as  the  bunches  will  soon  become  high  enough  to  inter- 
fere with  haying  machinery.  The  field  should  be  fairly 
level  and  free  from  stones  and  other  obstructions,  so  that  the 
hay  crop  can  be  harvested  readily  and  economically. 

332.  The  Formation  of  the  Meadow.  About  one  fourth 
of  the  land  from  which  a  hay  crop  is  annually  harvested  is 
native  meadow  on  which  little  or  no  attempt  at  improvement 
has  been  made.  The  Census  of  1910  reports  about  seven- 
teen milUon  acres  of  wild  grasses  cut  for  hay.  This  native 
meadow  is  mostly  in  the  more  newly  settled  portions  of  the 
West.  In  the  Central  and  Eastern  states  it  has  largely 
been  replaced  by  the  tame  grasses  and  clovers,  a  large  acre- 
age of  which  is  seeded  every  year  for  meadows  and  pastures. 
While  specific  directions  for  preparing  the  land  and  seeding 
will  be  given  in  the  discussion  of  the  more  important  meadow 
plants,  some  of  the  general  principles  which  apply  to  the 
establishment  of  a  meadow  can  best  be  stated  here. 

260 


MAKING  OF  A   MEADOW  261 

The  land  should  be  well  prepared.  Whether  the  gi*ass 
seed  is  sown  by  itself  or  with  a  nurse  crop,  good  preparation  m 
essential  to  success.  The  seeds  of  all  the  grasses  are  small 
and  many  of  them  may  fail  to  germinate  in  a  poorly  pre- 
pared seed  bed,  where  they  may  not  be  covered  at  all  or  may 
be  covered  too  deeply.  A  firm,  moist,  mellow  seed  bed 
with  a  fine,  well-prepared  surface,  supplies  the  best  condi- 
tions for  germination  and  early  growth.  A  smooth  surface 
is  also  of  material  value  when  the  crop  is  harvested,  because 
haying  machineiy  of  all  kinds  works  more  easily  and  effec- 
tively on  smooth  ground  than  on  rough.  A  well-prepared 
seed  bed  requires  less  seed  than  a  poorly  prepared  one,  for 
more  of  the  seed  will  germinate. 

The  land  should  be  fertile.  It  is  useless  to  attempt  to 
produce  a  profitable  crop  of  hay  on  poor  land.  Most  soils 
contain  enough  fertility  to  produce  good  hay  crops  if  the 
proper  selection  of  grasses  is  made,  but  usually  the  addition 
of  manure  will  materially  increase  the  yield.  The  time  when 
the  manure  may  be  applied  to  best  advantage  depends  on  the 
time  of  seeding  and  whether  the  grass  seed  is  sown  with  or 
without  a  nurse  crop.  WTien  a  nurse  crop  is  used  which  is 
hkely  to  lodge  from  manuring,  it  is  better  to  apply  the 
manure  to  some  previous  crop,  or  to  delay  its  application 
till  after  the  nurse  crop  is  removed.  Oh  the  other  hand,  if 
the  meadow  grasses  are  sown  alone,  a  light  dressing  of 
manure  may  be  plowed  under  with  good  results  when  the 
land  is  being  prepared  for  seeding.  It  may  also  be  applied 
as  a  top  dressing  after  the  grass  seed  has  been  sown,  or  any 
time  later  when  it  will  not  interfere  with  the  growing  crop. 

333.  Sowing  in  Mixtures.  A  mixture  of  grasses  is  fre- 
quently better  than  any  one  kind  alone.  There  are  excep- 
tions to  this  rule,  as  when  hay  is  grown  for  market  that 
demands  straight  timothy  or  clover  or  alfalfa.  Alfalfa 
ordinarily  does  better  when  sown  alone  than  with  any  other 
plant.    With  most  of  the  grasses,  however,  a  mixture  adds 


262  FIELD  CROPS 

to  the  yield  and  palatability  of  the  hay  crop.  The  yield  is 
increased,  because  the  roots  of  the  different  plants  penetrate 
to  varying  depths,  so  that  more  food  material  is  available  for 
all  than  for  any  one.  At  the  same  time,  the  portions  above 
ground  grow  to  different  heights,  so  that  they  have  more 
space  to  spread  when  in  a  mixture  than  when  growing  alone. 
•The  palatability  of  the  product  is  increased,  for  animals  like 
variety  in  their  food.  Care  should  be  taken  in  selecting 
the  different  plants  to  make  up  the  mixture  so  that  all  will 
be  ready  to  cut  for  hay  at  the  same  time.  Red  clover  and 
timothy  do  not  make  the  best  mixture,  as  red  clover  is  ready 
to  cut  earlier  than  timothy,  and,  if  left  till  the  timothy  is 
ready,  the  clover  stems  become  woody  and  many  of  the 
leaves  drop  off.  Mammoth  clover,  which  is  later  than  red 
clover,  is  much  better  in  a  mixture  with  timothy. 

334.  Preparing  the  Land.  The  desirability  of  a  well- 
prepared  seed  bed  has  already  been  stated.  The  method  of 
preparing  this  seed  bed  varies  with  the  soil,  the  locaUty,  the 
season,  and  the  preceding  crop.  A  heavy  soil  usually  requires 
more  work  to  get  it  into  good  tilth  for  seeding  than  a  loose, 
sandy  one.  Fertilization,  either  with  barnj^ard  manure  or 
commercial  fertilizers,  may  be  necessary  before  seeding  on 
the  poorer  lands  of  the  South.  If  the  land  was  plowed  and 
put  in  good  condition  for  the  crop  immediately  preceding, 
some  of  this  work  may  be  omitted  before  sowing  to  grass. 

The  usual  practice  in  the  North  Atlantic  and  North 
Central  states,  where  most  of  the  tame  grass  meadows  are 
located,  is  to  sow  the  grass  seed  with  some  grain  crop.  This 
may  be  winter  wheat  in  the  region  where  that  crop  is  grown, 
or  it  may  be  spring  wheat,  oats,  or  barley.  More  attention 
than  usual  should  be  devoted  to  the  preparation  of  the  land 
when  grasses  are  to  be  sown  with  these  grains,  particularly 
in  the  way  of  fining  the  surface  soil  before  the  seed  is  sown. 
When  the  grasses  are  to  be  sown  with  winter  wheat,  the  land 
should  be  plowed  some  weeks  previous  to  seeding  time  and 


SELECTION  OF  SEED  263 

the  seed  bed  prepared  with  the  disk  and  smoothing  harrows. 
If  any  of  these  grain  crops  follow  corn  wliich  has  been  kept 
clean  of  weeds,  a  good  seed  bed  can  be  prepared  by  disking 
two  or  three  times  and  then  harrowing.  The  corn  rows 
should  be  leveled  as  much  as  possible  in  preparing  the  land. 
If  the  ground  is  to  be  plowed,  deep  plowing  when  the  soil 
breaks  up  readily  is  desirable.  Plowing  when  the  soil  is  in 
proper  condition  reduces  the  labor  necessary  to  obtain  a 
good  seed  bed ;  fall  plowing  is  usually  preferable  in  the  North. 
Deep  plowing  increases  the  water-holding  capacity  of  the 
soil,  and  also  increases  the  quantity  of  available  plant  food 
by  making  the  soil  more  easily  penetrable  by  the  roots. 

335.  Selection  of  the  Seed.  The  sowing  of  good  seed 
is  fully  as  important  in  forming  a  meadow  as  in  the  planting 
of  any  of  the  grain  crops.  The  seed  should  be  true  to  name, 
of  strong  germination,  and  free  from  noxious  weed  seeds. 
The  seeds  of  some  of  the  inferior  grasses  closely  resemble 
those  of  some  of  the  important  ones;  for  example,  Canada 
blue  grass  seed  is  very  similar  to  that  of  Kentucky  blue  grass, 
but  Canada  blue  grass  is  of  much  less  value.  When  there 
is  any  doubt  about  the  purity  of  the  seed,  a  sample  should 
be  submitted  to  the  nearest  seed  laboratory  for  examination. 
The  experiment  stations  usually  make  examinations  of  this 
kind  free  of  charge.  With  a  simple  hand  lens  and  samples 
of  good  seed,  or  good  illustrations  of  them  such  as  are  easily 
obtainable,  examinations  for  purity  may  readily  be  made 
in  school  or  at  home  .  Freedom  from  weed  seeds  is  equally 
as  important  as  freedom  from  undesirable  mixtures,  as  many 
of  the  worst  weeds  are  often  introduced  in  grass  and  clover 
seed.     Avoid  them  by  not  planting  them. 

336.  Germination  Test.  As  the  germination  of  grass 
seed  is  often  low,  it  is  well  to  make  a  germination  test  of  the 

^Farmers'  Bulletin  428,  "Testing  Farm  Seeds  in  the  Home  and  in  the  Rural 
School,"  gives  directions  for  testing  ail  the  more  important  forage  crop  and  grain 
seeds,  with  illustrations  of  these  seeds  and  the  more  common  impurities  which 
are  found  in  them.  Farmers'  Bulletin  382,  "The  Adulteration  of  Forage-Plant 
Seeds,"  is  also  a  valuable  aid  to  the  making  of  purity  testa. 


264 


FIELD  CROPS 


before  sowing  or  before  purchasing  it  in  quantity.  A 
simple  germinator  may  be  made  from  two  plates  and  two 
pieces  of  blotting  paper  or  cloth,  as  shown  in  Figure  94.  The 
cloths  should  be  dampened  and  a  definite  number  of  seeds, 
one  hundred  or  two  hundred,  placed  between  them.  The 
second  plate  should  then  be  put  on  as  a  cover  and  the  ger- 
minator set  in  a  moderately  warm  place,  where  there  will  not 
be  any  marked  change  of  temperature  during  the  day  or 
night.  The  germinator  should  be  examined  occasionally  to 
see  that  the  cloths  do  not  dry  out.     In  about  ten  days,  the 

seeds  which  show  strong 
germination  should  be 
counted  and  the  per- 
centage of  germination 
figured .  If  it  is  low,  the 
seed  should  not  be  sown 
at  all,  or  the  rate  of  seed- 
ing should  be  increased 
sufficiently  to  supply 
the  proper  quantity  of  germmable  seed.  No  sample  which 
shows  a  low  percentage  of  germination  or  any  considerable 
proportion  of  impurities  should  be  purchased.  It  does  not 
pay  to  buy  any  but  the  best  quality  of  grass  and  clover 
seed.  Cheap  seed  is  nearly  always  low  in  germination  or 
contains  large  quantities  of  foreign  seeds. 

337.  Time  to  Sow.  In  the  Northern  states,  the  grasses 
are  usually  sown  in  the  spring  with  the  spring  grains.  In  the 
winter  wheat  belt,  timothy  is  generally  sown  in  the  fall  with 
the  wheat  and  clover  is  sown  very  early  the  following  spring. 
Better  results  may  often  be  obtained  by  sowing  the  timothy 
and  clover  together  without  a  nurse  crop  in  August  or  early 
in  September,  after  winter  wheat  has  been  harvested.  The 
land  can  be  plowed  and  put  in  good  condition  immediately 
after  the  wheat  is  cut,  and  a  good  seed  bed  will  then  be 
ready  for  seeding  at  the  proper  time.     The  objection  to  this 


Figure  94— Plate  germinator fortesting  small  seeds 


SEEDING  MEADOWS  265 

method  farther  north  is  that  the  clover  is  very  likely  to  kill 
out  during  the  winter  if  not  sown  till  late  in  the  season.  In 
the  South,  fall  seeding  of  grasses  is  usually  to  be  prefen'ed. 

338.  Sowing  with  or  without  a  Nurse  Crop.  While  the 
plan  of  sowing  grass  seed  with  a  grain  crop  is  a  very  common 
one,  the  results  which  are  obtained  do  not  always  justify 
its  use.  Instead  of  being  a  protection  to  the  young  plants, 
the  grain  crop  is  quite  often  the  reverse,  taking  moisture  from 
the  soil  when  it  is  most  needed.  When  the  grain  crop  is 
removed,  the  young  and  tender  plants  which  have  previously 
been  shaded  are  exposed  to  the  full  effect  of  the  sun  and  wind 
and  may  be  killed  by  a  few  hot  days  immediately  following 
the  harvesting  of  the  grain.  Little  or  no  forage  is  usually 
produced  by  the  new  meadow  the  first  fall  after  spring  seeding 
and  the  hay  crop  produced  the  following  year  from  August 
seeding  is  often  fully  as  good  as,  if  not  better  than,  that  pro- 
duced from  seed  sown  the  previous  spring  with  a  nurse  crop. 
With  alfalfa  and  some  other  crops  a  nurse  crop  is  seldom  used. 

339.  Manner  of  Seeding.  Grass  seed  may  be  sown 
broadcast  by  hand,  with  any  of  the  ordinaiy  broadcast 
seeders,  or  with  a  special  attachment  to  the  grain  drill.  The 
machine  which  is  perhaps  most  generally  satisfactory  for 
this  work  is  the  wheelbarrow  seeder.  This  gives  an  even 
distribution  of  the  seed  over  the  entire  area,  something  which 
is  not  always  easily  obtained  with  most  types  of  broadcast 
seeders.  When  sown  with  any  of  the  broadcast  seeders,  it 
is  customary  to  cover  the  seed  by  a  light  harrowing.  The 
spike-tooth  harrow  is  generallj^  used  for  this  work,  though  a 
brush  harrow  is  sometimes  employed.  When  clover  is  sown 
on  winter  wheat  in  the  spring,  it  is  not  usually  covered  at 
all,  the  alternate  thawing  and  freezing  of  the  soil  and  the 
beating  of  the  spring  rains  being  depended  on  to  cover  the 
seed  sufficiently  for  germination.  Care  should  be  taken 
that  the  seed  is  not  covered  too  deep  when  sown  with  the 
grain  drill. 


266  FIELD  CROPS 

340.  Depth  to  Cover  the  Seed.  The  depth  to  which 
grass  seed  should  be  covered  is  important.  With  small 
seeds  like  those  of  the  grasses  and  clovers,  the  danger  is  in 
covering  too  much  rather  than  not  enough.  In  dry  seasons 
or  in  sections  where  the  rainfall  is  scanty,  deeper  covering  is 
necessaiy  than  under  ordinary  conditions,  to  reach  moist 
earth.  Seed  may  be  covered  to  a  greater  depth  in  sandy 
soils  than  in  those  of  a  clayey  nature.  The  proper  depth  of 
covering  may  often  be  obtained  by  rolling  the  field  after  the 
seed  is  sown,  though  a  light  harrowing  is  usually  more  effec- 
tive. Covering  to  a  depth  of  from  one  quarter  of  an  inch 
to  one  inch  will  generally  produce  good  results,  though  on 
sandy  soils  or  in  dry  regions  a  greater  depth  of  covering  may 
be  necessary.  The  seeds  of  Kentucky  blue  grass  and  many 
other  grasses  often  germinate  when  they  are  not  covered 
except  by  the  natural  movement  of  the  soil  particles. 

341.  Rate  of  Seeding.  Definite  statements  with  regard 
to  the  proper  rate  of  seeding  will  be  made  in  the  special  dis- 
cussions of  the  various  important  hay  crops,  so  only  a  few 
general  rules  will  be  given  here.  In  mixtures,  it  is  cus- 
tomary to  sow  enough  of  the  more  important  grasses  to  give 
a  full  stand  if  the  less  important  ones  fail.  The  total  quantity 
of  seed  in  a  mixture  is  usually  greater  than  if  any  one  of  the 
constituents  were  sown  alone.  When  clover  and  timothy 
are  sown  together,  nearly  as  much  seed  of  each  is  sown  as 
when  either  is  sown  alone.  The  rate  of  seeding  must  be 
increased  on  poorly  prepared  land,  to  allow  for  the  consider- 
able number  of  seeds  that  will  fail  to  germinate.  When 
sowing  a  field  that  is  to  be  used  for  the  production  of  seed, 
less  seed  is  used  than  when  sowing  for  hay  production.  More 
seed  is  usually  sown  on  wet  land  than  on  dry,  and  on  rich 
land  than  on  poor. 

342.  The  Important  Meadow  Plants.  The  most  impor- 
tant plants  in  American  meadows  are  timothy  and  red 
clover.     Alfalfa  is  the  great  hay  plant  of  the  West,  and  its 


CARE  OF  A  MEADOW  267 

cultivation  is  rapidly  spreading  in  all  parts  of  the  country. 
On  wet  lands,  redtop  is  an  important  grass,  and  alsike  clover 
largely  replaces  red  clover.  In  the  South,  Johnson  grass  is 
the  most  common  hay  grass.  In  the  Northwest,  brome 
grass  occupies  a  prominent  place.  The  native  meadows  of 
the  West  are  made  up  of  a  large  number  of  species  of  native 
grasses,  among  the  more  important  of  which  are  the  wheat 
grasses.  A  few  others  are  used  in  a  limited  way  in  some 
sections  of  the  country,  but  the  six  or  seven  plants  named 
above  constitute  the  greater  part  of  the  hay  which  is  pro- 
duced in  the  United  States.  These  will  be  discussed  at 
length  in  the  succeeding  pages. 

343.  The  Care  of  the  Meadow.  To  get  the  best  results 
from  a  meadow,  something  more  is  necessary  than  to  go  out 
at  the  proper  time  and  harvest  the  hay  crop.  The  length 
of  time  a  field  is  to  remain  in  meadow  influences  to  some 
extent  the  treatment  which  is  given  to  it.  The  ordinary 
practice  in  this  country,  except  with  alfalfa,  is  to  cut  but  one 
or  two  crops  of  hay  and  then  break  up  the  sod  for  some  annual 
crop  such  as  corn,  potatoes,  or  small  grain.  Often  it  is 
pastured  for  from  one  to  three  years  and  then  plowed  and 
planted  to  some  one  of  these  crops.  Little  attention  is  given 
to  the  maintenance  of  permanent  meadows  except  on  land 
that  is  very  wet  or  is  otherwise  undesirable  for  cultivation, 
though  in  England  and  some  of  the  other  European  countries 
lands  are  kept  continually  in  grass  for  many  years. 

Attention  may  well  be  given  to  the  meadow  during 
the  first  season  in  the  matter  of  keeping  down  weeds  and  pre- 
venting them  from  seeding.  Fields  that  are  seeded  to  grass 
with  a  nurse  crop  in  the  spring  often  grow  up  to  ragweed  and 
other  pests  after  the  nurse  crop  is  removed.  These  weeds 
should  be  prevented  from  seeding  by  going  over  the  field 
with  a  mower  about  the  time  they  begin  to  bloom,  cutting 
the  stubble  rather  high  so  as  not  to  expose  the  roots  of  the 
young  grass  plants  to  the  full  glare  of  the  sun's  rays.     Pas- 


268  FIELD  CROPS 

turing  new  seeding  is  not  often  advisable,  though  it  is  a  very 
common  practice.  If  a  rank,  heavy  growth  is  made  in  the 
fall,  it  may  be  pastured  to  some  extent  without  injury,  but 
the  quantity  of  forage  produced  is  usually  small,  and  the 
hay  crop  of  the  succeeding  year  is  often  reduced  materially 
by  fall  pasturing.  Enough  top  growth  should  be  left  to  give 
ample  protection  to  the  roots  during  the  winter.  The  fall 
growth  of  leaves  also  furnishes  a  supply  of  food  material  to 
the  roots,  which  is  stored  over  winter  and  used  in  the  early 
growth  of  the  plants  the  following  spring.  If  the  meadow  is 
closely  pastured  in  the  fall,  this  supply  of  plant  food  is  less- 
ened, with  a  corresponding  reduction  in  growth  the  next  year. 

If  the  stand  of  grass  is  thin  in  the  spring  following  seeding, 
it  can  sometimes  be  thickened  and  the  yield  of  hay  increased 
by  scattering  grass  seed  over  the  field  and  covering  it  with 
the  smoothing  harrow.  If  the  field  is  to  be  kept  in  meadow 
for  two  years,  a  top-dressing  of  manure  or  of  commercial 
fertilizer  in  the  fall  or  winter  will  materially  increase  the 
yield  the  following  season.  If  commercial  fertilizer  of  a 
readily  available  nature  is  used,  it  should  be  put  on  in  the 
spring  rather  than  in  the  fall,  or  much  of  it  will  be  lost  by 
leaching  during  the  winter.  Disking  or  harrowing  grass  lands 
is  sometimes  advocated  to  induce  a  more  vigorous  growth, 
but  this  treatment  is  unnecessary  on  meadows  that  are 
maintained  for  only  one  or  two  years. 

344.  Use  of  the  Aftermath.  "Aftermath"  is  the  term 
usually  applied  to  the  growth  made  by  a  meadow  after  the 
main  crop  of  hay  has  been  removed.  This  aftermath  is 
utilized  in  various  ways,  for  the  production  of  hay,  pasture, 
seed,  and  green  manure.  The  quantity  of  hay  produced  by 
the  aftermath  is  usually  much  smaller  than  the  main  crop. 
The  aftermath  is  more  generally  utilized  as  pasture  than  for 
the  production  of  hay,  because  the  regular  pastures  often 
fail  in  the  late  summer,  and  the  extra  pasturage  is  needed. 
If  the  meadow  is  to  be  used  for  the  production  of  hay  the 


PERMANENT  MEADOWS  269 

following  5rear,  the  aftermath  should  not  be  pastured .  too 
closely.  The  second  crop  of  clover  is  often  cut  for  seed, 
because  conditions  are  more  generally  favorable  for  seed 
production  then  than  earlier  in  the  season.  If  the  m-eadow 
is  to  be  broken  up  and  put  into  some  other  crop  the  follow- 
ing year,  the  aftermath  may  often  be  used  to  best  advantage 
b}^  turning  it  under  in  the  fall  to  add  vegetable  matter  to  the 
soil.  Pasturing  the  meadow  in  the  fall  and  then  turning 
under  the  sod  makes  a  double  use  of  the  fall  growth,  for 
much  of  the  fertility  is  returned  to  the  land  in  the  manure, 
but  the  quantity  of  vegetable  matter  is  slightly  reduced. 

345.  Pennanent  Meadows  and  Their  Improvement. 
The  short-term  rotation  is  in  such  general  use  in  this  country 
that  little  attention  has  been  given  to  the  formation!  of  per- 
manent meadows,  and  there  is  considerable  question  whether 
they  are  generally  desirable.  On  lands  which  are  too  wet 
for  cultivation,  permanent  meadows  may  often  be  estab- 
lished advantageously,  but  elsewhere,  with  the  exception 
of  alfalfa  meadows,  two  years  is  about  the  longest  time  for 
which  maximum  yields  can  be  expected.  Insect  pests  and 
plant  diseases  can  be*  combated  much  more  effectively  in 
a  short  rotation  than  in  one  in  which  any  one  crop  occupies 
the  land  for  a  considerable  period,  and,  as  these  troubles 
are  generally  present,  they  furnish  strong  reasons  against  the 
maintenance  of  permanent  meadows.  Where  it  is  desirable 
to  maintain  a  field  in  meadow  for  a  number  of  years,  special 
care  should  be  given  to  the  selection  of  long-lived  grasses. 
Disking  or  harrowing  every^  second  or  third  year  to  prevent 
the  field  from  becoming  "sodbound,"  applying  well-rotted 
manure,  and  reseeding  the  bare  or  thin  spots,  will  result  in 
profitable  yields. 

346.  Place  in  the  Rotation.  The  hay  crop  usually  fol- 
lows a  small  grain  and  precedes  a  cultivated  crop.  A  com- 
mon rotation  in  the  Central  states  consists  of  two  years  of 
corn,  one  of  oats,  and  one  or  two  of  grass.     The  meadow 


270  FIELD  CROPS 

may  then  be  utilized  as  pasture  for  a  year  or  two  before  it 
is  again  broken  up  for  corn,  or  corn  may  immediately  follow. 
Where  winter  wheat  is  an  important  crop,  it  may  imme- 
diately follow  the  breaking  up  of  a  meadow  and  in  turn  be 
followed  by  corn.  In  this  case,  the  land  is  again  seeded  to 
grass,  with  a  second  wheat  crop  following  the  corn.  A  slightly 
different  arrangement  of  this  rotation  is  corn,  wheat, 
wheat,  grass.  If  both  wheat  and  oats  are  grown,  the  rotation 
may  be  corn,  oats,  corn,  wheat,  grass,  or  the  order  of  the 
wheat  and  oats  crops  may  be  reversed,-  though  wheat  is  the 
better  nurse  crop.  In  IVIaine  and  some  of  the  other  impor- 
tant potato-growing  sections,  the  common  rotation  is  pota- 
toes, oats,  hay.  This  hay  crop  is  usually  clover.  (See  Sec- 
tion 456).  In  the  South  and  West,  perennial  hay  crops 
other  than  alfalfa  are  so  seldom  grown  that  definite  rota- 
tions have  not  been  devised. 

LABORATORY  AND  FIELD  EXERCISES 

Samples  of  seed  of  the  common  forage  grasses  should  be  obtained 
and  examined  for  purity  and  germination.  As  soon  as  these  seeds 
become  familiar,  mixtures  containing  two,  .three,  or  more  of  them 
may  be  separated  into  their  component  parts.  At  this  time,  all  that 
need  be  done  would  be  to  separate  the  weed  seeds,  chaff,  etc.,  from 
the  good  seed  without  any  attempt  to  identify  the  weeds.  Later,  the 
different  weed  seeds  might  be  identified.  Several  laboratory  periods 
may  well  be  devoted  to  this  work.  The  student  should  also  familiarize 
himself  with  the  common  grasses,  clovers,  and  weeds  growing  in 
meadows  in  the  neighborhood. 

REFERENCES 

Cyclopedia  of  American  Agriculture,  Vol.  II,  Bailey 
Grasses  of  North  America,  Beal. 
Forage  and  Fiber  Crops  in  America,  Hunt. 
Productive  Farm  Crops,  Montgomery. 
Forage  Crops,  and  Their  Culture,  Piper. 
Grasses  and  How  to  Grow  Them,  Shaw. 
Farm  Grasses  of  the  United  States,  Spillman. 
Meadows  and  Pastures,  Wing. 


CHAPTER  XII 
HAY  AND  HAY-MAKING 

347.  Principal  Hay  Plants.  The  principal  perennial  hay- 
plants  in  the  United  States  are  timothy  and  clover  in  the 
North  Central  and  Northeastern  states,  Johnson  grass  in 
the  South,  and  alfalfa  in  Kansas,  Nebraska,  Oklahoma,  and 
the  Rocky  Mountain  and  Pacific  states.  Among  other 
perennial  hay  plants  which  are  grown  in  more  or  less  Umited 
areas  are  redtop,  orchard  grass,  brome  grass,  western  wheat 
grass,  and  alsike  clover.  Numerous  annual  plants  are  also 
grown  for  hay,  including  foxtail  millet,  field  peas,  cowpeas, 
soy  beans,  wheat,  rye,  barley,  oats,  and  hairy  vetch.  Any 
of  these  plants  may  be  grown  alone,  or  thej^  may  be  grown 
in  various  mixtures  of  two  or  more. 

348.  Production  of  Hay  in  the  United  States.  The 
greater  part  of  the  hay  grown  in  the  United  States  is  pro- 
duced in  the  Northeastern  and  North  Central  states.  The 
Western  states  are  coming  to  be  of  considerable  importance 
as  producers  of  hay,  largely  through  the  general  use  of  alfalfa 
on  irrigated  land,  with  its  high  yield  per  acre.  New  York 
produces  nearly  one  tenth  of  the  annual  hay  crop  of  the 
country,  while  New  York,  Iowa,  and  Pennsylvania,  the  three 
leading  states,  show  an  average  annual  yield  of  about  one 
fourth  of  the  entire  crop  of  the  United  States.  The  pro- 
duction of  hay  is,  however,  more  generally  distributed  than 
that  of  any  of  the  cereal  crops  except  corn. 

The  annual  production  of  hay  in  the  United  States  for 
the  ten  years  from  1908  to  1917,  as  reported  by  the  Bureau 
of  Statistics,  averaged  72,669,000  tons,  grown  on  50,424,000 
acres  and  valued  at  $871 ,015,000.  This  is  sUghtly  more  than 
the  average  annual  value  of  either  the  cotton  or  the  wheat 

271 


272 


FIELD  CROPS 


crop  for  a  like  period,  though  both  these  crops  have  some- 
times exceeded  hay  in  value.  The  average  annual  acreage, 
production,  and  value  of  the  hay  crop  in  the  ten  leading 
states  and  in  the  United  States  during  the  five  years  from 
1913  to  1917  are  shown  in  Table  XVI,  while  the  percentage 
of  the  crop  produced  in  each  of  the  leading  states  is  shown 
graphically  in  Fi2;ure  95. 

Table  XVI.  Average  acreage,  production,  and  farm  value  of  hay 
in  each  of  the  ten  leading  states  and  in  the  United  States,  during 
the  five  years  from  1913  to  1917,  inclusive. 


state 

Acreage 

Yield 
per  acre 

Production 

Farm  value 
Dec.  1 

New  York 

Iowa... 

California 

Pennsylvania. . . 

Wisconsin 

Ohio 

Acres 

4,508,000 
3,162,000 
2,502,000 
3,140,000 
2,561,000 
2,922,000 
2,506,000 
3,036,000 
2,600,000 
1,568,000 
23,184,000 

Tons 
1.34 
1.50 
1.78 
1.40 
1.70 
1.37 
1.39 
1.05 
1.21 
1.87 
1.60 

Tons 

6,038,000 
4,946,000 
4,536,000 
4,409,000 
4,367,000 
4,019,000 
3,440,000 
3,254,000 
3,118,000 
3,023,000 
37,015,000 

Dollars 

80,994,000 
49,944,000 
57,035,000 
67,079,000 
51,921,000 
54,629,000 

Michigan 

Missouri 

Illinois 

Nebraska 

All  others 

44,210,000 
38,952,000 
44,710,000 
24,902,000 
460,116,000 

United  States.. 

51,689,000 

1.51 

78,165,000 

974,442,000 

The  Bureau  of  Crop  Estimates  reports  only  the  hay  pro- 
duction and  does  not  report  coarse  forage.  When  this  is 
taken  into  consideration,  the  rank  in  production  is  Iowa, 
New  York,  Minnesota,  Kansas,  and  Nebraska. 

349.  Acre  Yield  and  Value.  The  heaviest  yields  of  hay 
to  the  acre  are  obtained  in  the  irrigated  states  of  the  West 
and  Southwest.  The  principal  hay  crop  grown  in  these 
states  is  alfalfa,  of  which  several  cuttings  are  made  each 
year.  The  average  acre  yield  of  hay  for  the  five  years  from 
1913  to  1917  in  Arizona  was  3.52  tons;  in  Nevada,  2.86  tons; 
and  in  Idaho,  2.75  tons.  In  the  states  of  largest  production 
the  average  annual  yield  ranges  from  1.25  to  1.50  tons  to  the 


TIME  TO  CUT  HAY  273 

acre.  The  same  range  is  quite  general  in  the  South.  Much 
larger  yields  may  be  produced,  however,  when  special  atten- 
tion is  given  to  the  hay  crop. 

The  average  acre  value  of  hay  for  the  five  years  from 
1913  to  1917  was  higher  in  Arizona  than  in  any  other  state, 
$48.96;  or  about  $15.00  a  ton.     The  lowest  acre  value  was 

N.  Y.  ■^H^^HH^HM^^HI^HHHI^^HHB  7.7% 

IOWA  ^— B^— i— — ^1^1^—  6.3% 

CAL.  mmm^ma^^mmm^mm^i^mmi^m^^  5.8% 

PA.  m^m^mmBtmmmammi^mmK^  5.6% 

WIS.  mmm^Ki^maamm^K^mim^m^^m  5.6% 

orao  m^a^^^m^^mmmmmmam  5.1% 

MICH.        M^— ^H— ^— I  4.4% 
MO.  l^^—^i^— 1M  4.2% 

n.L.  ■— B^i^—I^—  4.0% 

NEB.         w^^^mmma^mm  3.8% 

Figure  95. — Graph  showing  percentage  of  the  total  hay  crop  of  the  United  Statee 
produced  in  the  ten  leading  states  during  the  five  years  from  1913  to 
1917,  inclusive. 

that  of  North  Dakota  $8.60.  The  acre  value  in  New  York 
was  $19.33  and  in  Iowa,  $15.77.  The  difference  between 
these  two  states  was  due  entirely  to  the  higher  price  per  ton 
in  New  York,  as  the  acre  yield  is  less  than  that  in  Iowa. 

350.  Time  to  Cut.  For  the  best  quahty  of  hay,  the  crop 
should  be  cut  when  the  plants  are  in  bloom.  The  grasses 
usually  increase  in  weight  and  in  total  feeding  value  up  to 
the  time  the  seed  begins  to  ripen,  but  they  decrease  in  pal- 
atability  and  digestibility  after  the  blooming  stage  is  past. 
Probably  the  largest  quantity  of  digestible  food  material 
can  be  obtained  from  hay  made  up  largely  of  the  grasses, 
if  they  are  not  cut  until  about  the  time  they  go  out  of  bloom. 
On  the  other  hand,  the  clovers  and  alfalfa  must  be  cut  some- 
what earlier,  or  many  of  the  leaves  will  be  lost  in  curing 
and  the  feeding  value  will  be  considerably  decreased.  When 
red  clover  and  timothy  are  grown  together,  the  clover  comes 
into  bloom  some  days  earUer  than  the  timothy,  and  it  is 
necessary  to  cut  the  crop  when  the  clover  is  rather  mature 
and  before  the  timothy  has  reached  its  best  state.     Otherr 

18— 


274 


FIELD  CROPS 


wise,  the  decrease  in  value  of  the  clover  will  more  than  equal 
any  gain  there  may  be  from  the  timothy.  Where  the  acre- 
age to  be  harvested  is  large,  it  is  necessaiy  to  begin  cutting 
before  the  crop  has  reached  the  best  stage  in  order  to  com- 
plete the  work  before  a  part  of  it  becomes  overripe. 


Figure  96. — A  good  crop  of  hay  ready  to  be  hauled  to  the  barn.  The  hay 
loader  which  takes  the  hay  from  the  swath  or  windrow  is  generally  used 
in  large  meadows.  It  is  not  then  necessary  to  place  the  hay  in  cocks  as 
shown  here. 

Whenever  possible,  hay  should  be  cut  when  there  is 
prospect  of  good  drying  weather  until  it  can  be  put  in  the 
mow  or  stack.  Conditions  frequently  make  this  difficult, 
but  the  best  quality  of  hay  can  be  made  only  when  there  is 
the  least  possible  exposure  to  the  weather.  Hay  that  is 
fairly  mature  can  often  be  cut  in  the  morning  and  put  in 
the  stack  or  mow  in  the  afternoon.  Discoloration  from  dew 
and  consequent  lowering  in  market  value  are  thus  avoided. 
The  same  result  can  often  be  obtained  bj^  cutting  late  in 
the  afternoon,  so  that  the  grass  is  still  green  and  full  of 
moisture  when  the  dew  falls.  It  will  not  then  be  discolored, 
and,  with  the  exception  of  accidental  conditions,  will  cure 


METHOD  OF  CUTTING  HAY  275 

earlier  in  the  day  than  hay  that  is  not  cut  till  the  following 
morning. 

351.  Method  of  Cutting.  Practically  all  the  hay  in  the 
United  States  is  now  cut  with  the  mower,  though  small 
acreages  of  swampy  or  rocky  land  in  New  England  and  else- 
where are  cut  with  the  scythe.  Ordinary  mowers  cut  swaths 
from  5  to  7  feet  wide.  One-horse  mowers  are  made  which  cut 
a  33^  or  4-foot  swath,  but  usually  two  horses  are  used  with 
a  machine  cutting  5  or  6  feet  in  width.  Cutting  a  swath  more 
than  6  feet  wide  is  hard  work  for  two  horses,  and  it  is  also 
difficult  to  keep  long  cutter  bars  in  line. 

352.  Curing.  The  length  of  time  required  to  cure  a  crop 
sufficiently  for  storing  depends  on  the  stage  of  maturity  of 
the  crop,  the  particular  plant  or  plants  which  are  to  be  made 
into  hay,  the  yield,  and  the  weather  conditions.  No  general 
rules  can  be  laid  down.  The  point  is  to  get  the  hay  diy 
enough  for  storing  with  the  least  possible  loss  of  food  value 
and  palatability.  The  food  value  may  be  reduced  by  wash- 
ing by  rains,  by  bleaching  from  rains  or  dews,  by  the  loss 
of  leaves  and  other  tender  parts  when  the  crop  is  too  mature 
or  too  dry  for  handling,  and  by  the  molding  or  rotting  of  the 
hay.  Curing  in  the  windrow  or  in  the  cock  is  desirable  in 
order  to  prevent  much  loss  of  leaves,  particularly  in  clover 
and  alfalfa  hay.  Clover  hay  should  not  be  handled  more 
than  is  absolutely  necessary  after  it  is  cured. 

The  use  of  modern  machinerj^,  such  as  side-delivery  rakes 
and  the  hay  loader,  does  away  entirely  with  the  cock,  for  the 
hay  is  taken  up  directly  from  the  swath  or  the  small  windrow. 
This  plan  is  often  necessary  on  account  of  the  scarcity  of 
labor,  but  it  is  generally  followed  at  a  sacrifice  in  the  quaHty 
of  the  hay.  Curing  partially  in  the  swath  and  then  raking 
it  into  cocks,  which  should  be  rounded  up  with  a  fork,  if 
there  is  danger  of  rain,  will  give  the  best  quality  of  hay.  If 
hay  of  particularly  high  quality  is  desired  in  humid  sections, 
the  cocks  should  be  covered  with  canvas  covers. 


276 


FIELD  CROPS 


HAYINO  MACHINERY 


277 


353.  Haying  Machinery.  Haying  -tools  form  a  con- 
siderable part  of  the  equipment  of  the  farm.  There  is  the 
mower,  with  which  to  cut  the  grass;  the  tedder,  for  stirring 
heavy  hay  in  the  swath  to  facihtate  its  curing;  the  rake, 
either  of  the  hand-dump  or  self-dump  type  to  gather  the 
cured  hay  into  windrows  and  then  into  cocks,  or  the  side- 
deHvery  type  which  makes  a  continuous  windrow,   thus 


Figure  08. — Putting  hay  into  the  mow  by  means  of  slings.  In  this  way,  a  load 
of  hay  can  be  put  into  the  barn  in  a  few  minutes.  This  barn  has  a  large 
mow  capacity. 

facilitating  the  use  of  the  hay  loader;  the  hay  loader  for 
taking  the  hay  from  the  swath  or  windrow  and  depositing 
it  on  the  wagon;  and  various  arrangements  of  hayforks, 
slings,  poles,  tracks,  pulleys,  etc.,  for  unloading  the  hay 
from  the  wagon  to  the  mow  or  stack. 

354.  Storing.  When  the  hay  is  properly  cured,  it  should 
be  placed  as  quickly  as  possible  in  some  permanent  place 
for  storage.  This  may  be  in  the  mow  of  a  barn,  under  a 
shed-roof  built  specially  for  protecting  hay  from  the  weather, 
or  in  a  stack  in  the  open.  When  the  haj^  is  to  be  fed  on  the 
farm  and  storage  room  can  be  provided  in  the  barn  without 
much  expense,  it  should  be  placed  there.  It  is  then  pro- 
tected from  loss  by  exposure  to  the  weather  and  is  con- 
veniently located  for  feeding.     If  any  quantity  is  to  be  stored 


278  FIELD  CROPS 

in  the  barn,  a  track  and  carrier  should  be  placed  in  the  peak 
of  the  roof  and  provision  made  for  unloading  by  horse  power. 
When  the  mow  does  not  afford  sufficient  storage  room, 
particularly  when  the  hay  is  to  be  sold  rather  than  fed,  a 
specially  constructed  hayshed  may  be  useful.  This  con- 
sists of  a  set  of  posts  covered  with  a  roof,  under  which  the 
hay  is  stored.  If  desired,  the  sides  and  ends  may  be  enclosed ; 
but  this  is  not  essential,  as  there  will  be  little  loss  from 
weathering  if  the  sides  of  the  pile  of  hay  are  kept  straight, 
so  that  rain  and  snow  cannot  penetrate.  Where  there  is  an 
abundance  of  hay  and  insufficient  storage  space  under  cover, 
stacking  in  the  open  is  necessary.  Where  a  number  of  loads 
are  to  be  put  into  one  stack,  unloading  is  faciUtated  if  a  set 
of  poles  or  derricks  is  used  and  the  hay  is  unloaded  with 
horses.  Small  stacks  expose  relativel}^  more  surface  to  the 
weather  than  large  ones,  and  a  greater  proportion  of  the  hay 
is  injured  by  weathering. 

355.  Baling.  If  hay  is  to  be  sold  for  shipment,  it  is  com- 
pressed into  bales  of  from  100  to  200  pounds.  The  ordinary 
bale  averages  about  100  pounds  in  weight.  Hay  in  the  stack 
or  mow  occupies  from  350  to  500  cubic  feet  to  the  ton,  de- 
pending very  largely  on  the  height  of  the  stack,  the  kind 
of  hay,  and  the  length  of  time  it  has  settled.  Baled  hay 
occupies  from  100  to  150  cubic  feet  to  the  ton.  Baling 
presses  are  of  various  kinds,  and  the  pressure  is  applied  in 
various  ways.  The  power  for  pressing  is  generally  supplied 
by  a  sweep  drawn  by  horses,  though  a  steam  or  gasoline 
engine  may  be  substituted.  A  bale  of  hay  is  ordinarily 
about  16  by  18  by  40  inches,  though  both  smaller  and  larger 
bales  are  made.  The  bale  is  bound  with  wire.  Baling  is 
not  generally  done  until  some  weeks  or  months  after  the 
hay  crop  is  harvested,  usualty  during  the  winter  when  there 
is  little  other  farm  work. 

356.  Measuring  Hay.  As  has  previously  been  stated, 
a  ton  of  hay  occupies  from  350  to  500  cubic  feet.     The  vol- 


MARKET  CLASSES  OF  HAY  279 

ume  of  a  mow  can  usually  be  figured  quite  readily,  but  it  is 
much  more  difficult  to  estimate  the  contents  of  a  stack.  Nu- 
merous rules^  have  been  proposed,  but  none  of  them  is  very 
accurate,  while  they  all  involve  considerable  figuring. 
The  number  of  cubic  feet  in  a  ton  of  hay  varies  so  greatly 
with  the  kind  of  hay,  the  length  of  time  it  has  stood  in  the 
stack,  and  the  height  of  the  stack,  that  it  is  very  difficult 
to  get  a  rule  which  will  fit  all  conditions.  As  a  usual  thing, 
the  rules  are  more  favorable  to  the  buyer  than  to  the  seller, 
as  they  underestimate  rather  than  overestimate  the  number 
of  tons  in  the  stack  or  mow.  The  most  satisfactory  method 
of  selling  hay,  wherever  possible,  is  by  weight. 

357.  Market  Classes  of  Hay.  The  standard  hay  on  all 
markets  is  timothy.  Other  grades  depend  largely  on  the 
price  of  timothy  hay  and  the  quantity  of  the  different  grades 
which  are  available.  The  rules  for  grading  timothy  hay 
adopted  by  the  National  Hay  Association  are  as  follows: 

Choice  timothy  hay. — Shall  be  timothy  not  mixed  with  over  one 
twentieth  other  grasses,  properly  cured,  bright  natural  color,  sound, 
and  well-baled. 

No.  1  timothy  hay. — Shall  be  timothy  with  not  more  than  one 
eighth  mixed  with  clover  or  other  tame  grasses,  properly  cured;  good 
color,  sound,  and  well-baled. 

No.  2  timothy  hay.—^hoW  be  timothy  not  good  enough  for  No.  1, 
not  over  one  fourth  mixed  with  clover  or  other  tame  grasses,  fair  color, 
sound,  and  well-baled. 

No.  3  timothy  /zay.— Shall  include  all  hay  not  good  enough  for 
other  grades,  sound,  and  well-baled. 

No-grade  /zay.— Shall  include  all  hay  badly  cured,  stained,  threshed 
or  in  any  way  unsound. 

Other  grades  of  hay  recognized  by  the  National  Hay 
Association  include  light.  No.  1  and  No.  2  clover  mixed 
hay;  No.  1  and  No.  2  clover  hay;  choice.  No.  1,  No.  2,  and 
No.  3  prairie  hay;  No.  1  and  No.  2  midland  hay;  and  choice, 
No.  1,  No.  2,  and  No.  3  alfalfa  hay;  as  well  as  several  grades 
which  include  hay  of  very  low  quality. 

iFor  methods  of  determining  the  contents  of  hay  in  mows,  ricks,  and  stacks 
see  Agricultural  Arithmetic  by  Shutts  and  Weir. 


280  FIELD  CROPS 

LABORATORY  AND  FIELD  EXERCISES 

An  afternoon  spent  in  visiting  some  of  the  hay  mows,  feed  stores, 
or  hay  stacks  in  the  neighborhood  and  studying  the  different  types  of 
hay,  their  quahty  and  other  characteristics,  may  be  made  very  instruc- 
tive. In  the  late  spring  or  early  summer,  a  visit  might  also  be  made 
to  several  hay  meadows  to  study  the  grasses  of  which  they  are  com- 
posed, the  prevalence  of  weeds,  and  other  factors  which  influence  the 
quality  of  the  product. 

REFERENCES 

Forage  and  Fiber  Crops  in  America,  Hunt. 
Forage  Crops  and  Their  Culture,  Piper. 
Grasses  and  How  to  Grow  Them,  Shaw. 
Farm  Grasses  of  the  United  States,  Spillman. 
Forage  Crops,  Voorhees. 
Meadows  and  Pastures,  Wing. 
Farmers'  Bulletins: 

362.  Conditions  Affecting  the  Value  of  Market  Hay. 

508.  Market  Hay. 

677.  Growing  Hay  in  the  South  for  Market. 

838.  Harvesting  Hay  with  the  Sweep  Rake. 

943.  Haymaking. 

956.  Curing  Hay  on  Trucks, 


CHAPTER  XIII 
PASTURES 

358.  The  Importance  of  Pastures,  The  acreage  of 
improved  farm  lands,  according  to  the  Census  of  1910,  was 
about  477,000,000  acres.  Of  this,  something  Uke  145,000,- 
000  acres  was  pasture  land,  more  than  was  devoted  to  any 
one  harvested  crop,  even  slightly  exceeding  corn.  The  total 
area  in  range,  mountain,  and  improved  pasture  land  per- 
haps considerably  exceeds  one  billion  acres,  though  this 
figure  is  necessarily  a  veiy  rough  estimate  (Section  325). 
It  is  impossible  to  estimate  accurately  the  annual  value  of 
this  pasture,  but  there  is  no  doubt  that  it  is  greater  than  that 
of  any  of  the  harvested  crops.  A  valuation  of  $1.50  an  acre 
for  the  annual  product  of  this  land  would  aggregate  as  much 
as  the  annual  value  of  the  corn  crop  in  normal  times. 

359.  The  Essentials  of  a  Good  Pasture.  A  good  pasture 
should  start  into  growth  early  in  the  season  and  should  con- 
tinue to  produce  feed  till  late  in  the  fall.  The  growth  of 
grasses  should  be  fine  rather  than  coarse,  and  the  product  of 
the  pasture  should  be  both  palatable  and  nutritious.  The 
yield  should  be  abundant  in  order  to  furnish  profitable 
returns.  The  plants  which  compose  it  should  form  a  close 
turf  which  is  not  readily  injured  by  tramping  or  close  grazing. 

360.  The  Formation  of  a  Pasture.  In  the  making  of  a 
pasture,  about  the  same  care  is  required  as  in  the  makmg  of 
a  meadow,  though  it  is  not  so  necessary  to  have  the  ground 
smooth  and  level.  The  plants  which  go  mto  the  making  of 
a  pasture  should  be  as  carefully  chosen,  and  it  is  as  important 
to  have  good  seed,  free  from  weeds  and  other  impurities. 
Weeds  materially  reduce  the  value  of  a  pasture,  by  occupy- 
ing space  which  should  be  available  for  better  plants,  by 

281 


282  FIELD  CFOPS 

causing  stock  to  leave  the  grasses  which  grow  near  them, 
and  sometimes  by  actual  injury  to  the  stock  or  some  portion 
of  their  products.  Thus  wild  barley  is  injurious,  as  the 
beards  cause  soreness  of  the  mouths  and  jaws  of  stock  which 
eat  the  mature  heads;  weeds  which  produce  burs  injure  the 
wool  of  sheep,  making  it  more  difficult  to  clean  for  market 
and  reducing  its  market  value;  weeds  with  a  strong  odor, 
like  the  wild  onion,  affect  the  quality  of  milk  and  butter; 
and  some  weeds  are  poisonous  to  stock. 

In  the  more  thickly  settled  portions  of  the  United  States, 
the  pastures  are  usually  meadows  which  have  become  more 
or  less  unproductive,  or  low  lands  which  are  not  adapted  to 
the  production  of  harvested  crops.  The  general  practice  is 
to  harvest  one  or  two  crops  of  hay  from  a  meadow  and  then 
pasture  it  for  a  year  or  more  before  breaking  it  up  for  har- 
vested crops.  The  objection  to  this  plan  is  that  the  plants 
which  make  the  best  hay,  usually  timothy  and  red  clover, 
are  not  particularly  good  pasture  plants.  While  the  plan 
is  fairly  satisfactory^  for  a  year  or  two,  something  else  must 
be  used  if  a  permanent  pasture  is  desired. 

If  a  pasture  is  to  be  started  which  is  to  be  more  or  less 
permanent,  some  grasses  should  be  included  in  the  mixture 
which  will  give  quick  returns,  and  others  which  will  come  on 
later  and  continue  to  produce  pasturage  in  later  years.  It 
is  not  usualty  advisable  to  turn  stock  on  a  new  pasture  until 
the  sod  has  become  firmly  established,  usually  during  the 
second  season  of  its  growth.  More  seed  should  be  sown  for 
making  a  pasture  than  for  a  meadow. 

361.  Important  Pasture  Plants.  The  most  important 
pasture  plants  of  the  region  from  Virginia  northward  to  the 
Canadian  boundary  and  westward  to  Missouri,  Iowa,  and 
Minnesota,  are  Kentucky  blue  grass  and  white  clover. 
These  two  plants  come  in  on  old  meadows  and  in  pastures 
almost  spontaneous^,  and  it  is  seldom  necessary  to  sow  them. 
If  a  mixture  is  sown  especially  for  use  as  pasture,  some  seed 


IMPROVEMENT  OF  PASTURES  283 

of  each  of  these  plants  should  be  included,  but  the  quantity 
need  not  be  large  unless  the  location  is  one  where  they  are 
not  common.  Brome  grass  is  also  a  good  pasture  plant  in 
this  section,  and  is  much  reUshed  by  stock.  Its  range  of 
usefulness  extends  westward  into  the  dry  sections  of  Nebraska 
and  the  Dakotas.  Its  use  is  restricted,  because  it  is  difficult 
to  obtain  seed  free  from  quack  grass.  In  the  South,  Bermuda 
grass  is  the  great  pasture  plant,  though  lespedeza,  or  Japan 
clover,  is  also  important.  In  the  Great  Plains  and  Rocky 
INIountain  states,  the  native  grasses  make  up  practically 
all  the  pastures,  and  for  the  most  part  are  more  hardy  and 
nutritious  than  any  introduced  plants.  Alfalfa  is  used  as 
pasture  in  a  limited  way.  In  various  portions  of  the  country, 
annual  pasture  plants  are  sown  to  some  extent. 

362.  Improving  a  Native  Pasture.  A  native  pasture, 
especially  in  the  Eastern  and  Central  states,  may  often  be 
materially  improved  by  proper  treatment  and  care.  Where 
the  ground  is  rough  and  there  are  many  hummocks,  the  use 
of  the  disk  and  smoothing  harrows  will  help  to  level  it  and 
aid  in  the  production  of  a  better  stand  and  more  uniform 
growth.  Brush  pastures  may  be  improved  by  removing  all 
or  a  part  of  the  brush  by  clearing,  firing  or  pasturing  with 
goats.  The  latter  is  perhaps  the  most  economical  method, 
as  the  goats  will  clear  out  the  brush  and  at  the  same  time 
bring  in  some  return.  Disking  or  harrowing  pastures  to 
loosen  the  surface  soil,  and  then  sowing  small  quantities  of 
seed  of  good  pasture  plants  such  as  Kentucky  blue  grass  or 
white  clover,  will  increase  the  productiveness  of  native 
pastures.  Clipping  with  the  mower  to  prevent  weeds  from 
seeding  is  also  a  good  practice. 

363.  The  Management  of  Pastures.  In  the  popular 
mind,  pastures  need  no  care  or  management.  All  that  is 
necessary  is  to  turn  the  stock  on  in  the  spring,  and  the  pas- 
tures will  take  care  of  themselves.  If  a  particularly  unfavor- 
able season  follows,  or  if  the  number  of  stock  is  too  great  for 


284  FIELD  CROPS 

the  pasture,  it  may  be  necessary  in  August  or  September  to 
supplement  it  with  feed  from  outside,  or  the  stock  may  be 
turned  on  the  grain  stubble  or  the  meadows  to  pick  whatever 
growth  may  be  there.  In  some  instances  this  may  be  a  wise 
practice,  but  in  general  it  does  not  seem  to  be,  as  the  young 
seeding  or  the  meadow  may  be  damaged  more  than  the  stock 
will  be  benefited.  It  is  desirable  to  have  rather  more  pasture 
than  the  stock  will  utilize  in  a  favorable  season,  or  to  be  able 
to  supplement  the  permanent  pasture  with  annual  plants 
on  which  stock  may  be  turned  or  which  may  be  cut  for  feed- 
ing green.  Rotation  grazing  is  sometimes  recommended. 
By  this  plan,  two  pastures  are  maintained  on  one  of  which 
stock  grazes  for  three  or  four  weeks  while  the  other  is  allowed 
to  grow;  then,  when  the  first  pasture  becomes  rather  short, 
the  stock  is  turned  into  the  second  and  the  first  is  allowed  to 
recuperate.  Good  pasturage  is  thus  furnished  with  no  more 
land  than  would  be  required  for  a  single  pasture  which 
would  give  less  satisfactory  service. 

364.  Renovating  Old  Pastures.  The  pastures  of  the 
Northeastern  and  North  Central  states  are  usually  in  part 
the  low,  wet  lands  of  the  farm  which  cannot  profitably  be 
brought  under  cultivation.  The  grasses  which  grow  on  this 
land  are  not  usually  so  palatable  or  nutritious  as  those  which 
thrive  on  the  higher,  better-drained  land  which  is  usually 
devoted  to  harvested  crops.  One  of  the  first  and  best  means 
of  renovating  or  improving  pastures  is  to  provide  thorough 
drainage.  Underdrainage  with  tile  is  usually  the  most 
satisfactory  and  permanent  method  of  removing  surplus 
water  from  the  land.  When  this  extra  supply  of  water  is 
removed,  air  can  penetrate  the  soil,  and  better  kinds  of 
grasses  will  grow  on  it.  Clovers  and  grasses  often  thrive  on 
well-drained  land  which  would  not  grow  there  before  the 
drainage  was  supphed.  In  many  other  districts  beside  those 
mentioned,  drainage  is  one  of  the  prime  factors  in  improv- 
ingc  pasture  lands. 


RENOVATING  OLD  PASTURES  285 

The  best  pastures,  those  on  which  white  clover  and 
Kentucky  blue  grass  thrive,  contain  an  abundance  of  lime. 
All  the  legumes  and  many  of  the  gi'asses  grow  best  where 
there  is  plenty  of  lime.  Another  step,  then,  in  renovating 
pastures,  is  to  supply  lime,  particularly  to  those  which  have 
recently  been  underdrained.  The  lime  can  best  be  added 
by  scattering  finely  ground  limestone  over  the  pasture  early 
in  the  spring  at  the  rate  of  two  tons  to  the  acre.  Lime  may 
also  be  applied  in  the  ordinary  commercial  form,  air-slaked, 
at  the  rate  of  one  ton  to  the  acre,  but  this  is  usually  more 
expensive  than  the  ground  limestone.  Soils  on  which  blue 
grass  and  the  clovers  grow  freely  do  not  need  lime,  as  their 
presence  indicates  an  abundance  of  this  element. 

Disking  and  harrowing  old  pastures  will  often  aid  in 
inducing  new  growth  by  loosening  the  surface  soil  and  break- 
ing up  a  sodbound  condition  which  may  have  resulted  from 
years  of  continuous  trampling  by  stock.  If  seed  of  good 
pasture  grasses  is  sown  at  this  time,  the  growth  of  the  pas- 
ture will  be  still  further  improved.  While  much  of  the 
manure  is  returned  to  the  land  when  it  is  pastured,  the  addi- 
tion of  more  manure  will  cause  a  more  luxuriant  growth  of 
grass.  The  use  of  commercial  fertilizers,  particularly  those 
which  are  rich  in  phosphorus,  such  as  ground  bone,  is  some- 
times advisable. 

Range  pastures  which  have  become  scanty  from  over- 
pasturing  may  be  greatly  improved  by  pasturing  lightly  for 
a  year  or  two,  allowing  the  native  grasses  to  mature  and 
reseed.  There  is  no  better  or  more  efficient  means  of  im- 
proving range  pastures  than  this.  Location  of  the  pastures 
so  as  to  allow  the  stock  to  graze  on  one  for  a  time  and 
then  on  another,  will  result  in  the  production  of  more 
pasturage  from  the  acreage  than  if  the  entire  area  is  grazed 
continuouslj^  This  rotation  allows  the  formation  of  some 
seed  from  time  to  time  and  thus  aids  in  the  renewal  of  the 
stand  of  useful  grassas.     It  is  seldom  practical  to  sow  grass 


286  FIELD  CROPS 

seed  on  these  pastures,  because  the  acreage  is  so  large,  and 
it  is  often  difficult  to  obtain  seed  of  the  native  grasses  which 
compose  them.  The  cultivated  grasses  of  which  seed  can 
be  obtained  cheapty  usually  do  not  grow  so  well  under  range 
conditions  as  the  native  kinds. 

LABORATORY  AND  FIELD  EXERCISES 

1.  Visits  to  pastures  in  the  neighborhood,  with  careful  studies  of  the 
plants  of  which  they  are  composed,  the  prevalence  of  weeds,  and  such 
other  points  as  appear  to  be  important,  may  be  made  with  profit.  The 
best  time  to  make  these  studies  is  late  in  the  spring  or  early  in  the  fall. 

2.  Make  parallel  lists  of  as  many  things  as  you  can  think  of 
that  contribute  to  a  good  pasture  and  what  things  should  be  avoided. 
In  a  third  column  list  the  ways  in  which  good  pastui'e  is  useful. 

REFERENCES 

Cyclopedia  of  American  Agi-iculture,  Vol.  II,  Bailey. 
Forage  and  Fiber  Crops,  Hunt. 
Field  Crop  Production,  Livingston. 
Forage  Crops  and  Their  Culture,  Piper. 
Grasses  and  How  to  Grow  Them,  Shaw. 
Fai-m  Grasses  of  the  United  States,  Spillman. 
Forage  Crops,  Voorhees. 
Meadows  and  Pastures,  Wing. 


CHAPTER  XIV 
THE  GRASSES 

365.  What  the  Grasses  Are.  In  much  of  the  preceding 
discussion  of  forage  crops,  the  term  "grasses"  has  been  used 
in  the  ordinary  sense  of  common  farm  usage,  as  including  all 
hay  and  pasture  plants,  whether  they  are  true  grasses, 
legumes,  or  a  mixture  of  both  classes  of  plants.  In  this  and 
the  succeeding  chapters  the  term  will  be  used  in  its  more 
limited  sense,  as  referring  only  to  the  true  grasses,  the  mem- 
bers of  the  Gramineae,  or  grass  family,  excluding  from  it  the 
legumes,  such  as  clover  and  alfalfa.  The  true  grasses  are 
among  our  most  common  plants.  The  number  of  species  is 
very  great,  especially  in  tropical  countries;  several  hundred 
are  native  to  the  United  States.  In  temperate  regions,  the 
number  of  individual  plants  of  the  grasses  is  much  greater 
proportionally  than  the  number  of  species,  large  areas  often 
being  covered  with  a  solid  mat  or  turf  of  one  or  more  species 
of  grass.  The  grass  family  is  the  most  important  natural 
group  of  plants.  It  includes  not  only  the  pasture  and  mead- 
ow plants  to  which  the  term  is  commonly  apphed,  but  also 
the  cereals,  which  supply  a  very  large  part  of  the  food  of 
men  and  animals.  Among  the  more  important  of  the  forage 
grasses  in  the  United  States  are  timothy,  Kentucky  blue 
grass,  redtop,  orchard  grass,  Bermuda  grass,  Johnson  grass, 
brome  grass,  and  the  native  wheat  grasses. 

366.  General  Characters.  Most  of  the  grasses  are  com- 
paratively short,  herbaceous  annuals  or  perennials,  though  a 
few,  such  as  the  bamboos  of  the  tropical  regions,  assume 
shrub  or  tree  forms.  The  stems  are  generally  hollow;  the 
nodes,  or  joints,  are  always  solid.  This  construction  of 
the  stem  allows  the  plant  to  stand  considerable  strain  from 

287 


288  FIELD  CHOPS 

wind  and  rain  without  injury.  The  base  of  the  leaf  forms 
a  sheath  around  the  stem,  which  further  strengthens  it;  the 
sheath  is  usually  spht  to  the  base  on  the  side  opposite  the 
blade.  A  thin,  hard  ring,  called  the  ligule,  forms  the  junc- 
tion of  the  blade  and  the  sheath,  clasping  the  stem,  or  culm, 
and  acting  as  a  guard  against  the  entrance  of  rain  or  dust  to 
the  inside  of  the  sheath. 

The  flowers  are  borne  in  spikes  or  panicles,  made  up  of 
spikelets  of  two  or  more  bracts,  or  scales.  They  consist 
of  from  one  to  three  very  small  scales,  from  one  to  six 
stamens,  and  a  one-celled  ovary,  usually  with  two  styles. 
The  flowers  may,  however,  be  imperfect,  as  in  the  case  of 
the  tassel  flowers  of  corn,  which  have  no  pistils.  The  stigmas 
are  hairy  or  plume-like,  and  the  anthers  are  attached  at  or 
near  their  middles  to  the  filaments,  so  that  they  swing  freely 
in  every  breeze.  The  fruit  is  a  caryopsis,  the  seed  or  grain 
being  enclosed  in  a  membrane  which  adheres  closely  to  it. 

367.  Differences.  The  grasses,  though  they  have  many 
characters  in  common,  are  quite  variable.  In  height,  they 
vary  from  a  few  inches,  as  in  the  case  of  many  of  our  native 
prairie  grasses,  to  several  feet,  as  in  corn  and  sorghum,  while 
some  of  the  bamboos  grow  to  the  height  of  large  trees.  The 
stems  may  be  hollow,  as  in  wheat  or  oats,  or  filled  with  pith, 
as  in  corn.  A  large  proportion  of  the  leaves  may  be  produced 
at  or  near  the  base  of  the  stem,  making  the  grass  valuable 
for  pasture,  or  many  of  the  leaves  may  be  borne  on  upright 
stems,  the  plant  then  being  suitable  for  hay.  The  flowers 
may  be  perfect,  as  in  wheat;  monoecious,  as  in  corn;  or 
dioecious,  as  in  the  buffalo  grass  of  the  western  prairies. 
They  may  be  borne  in  close  spikes,  as  in  timothy;  in  loose 
spikes,  as  in  wheat  or  rye;  or  in  panicles,  as  in  oats  or  red- 
top.  The  plants  may  be  annuals,  as  oats;  winter  annuals, 
as  winter  wheat;  or  perennials,  as  timothy,  brome  grass  or 
blue  grass.  The  habit  of  growth  may  vary  greatly,  from  the 
erect  form  of  timothy  to  the  creeping  habit  of  buffalo  grass 


IMPOHTAl^CE  OF  GRASSES  Jj~S9 

and  the  bent  grasses.  The  leaves  may  be  numerous  at  the 
base  of  the  stem  and  sparing  above,  or  they  may  be  small 
and  scanty  at  the  base  and  more  numerous  along  the  stem. 
The  roots  may  be  bulbous,  as  in  timothy,  or  fibrous,  as  in 
the  annual  species  and  many  of  the  perennial  ones. 

368.  Why  the  Grasses  Are  Important.  The  grasses  are 
of  great  importance  in  our  agriculture;  for  they  supply,  in 
addition  to  the  cereal  grains,  a  very  large  part  of  the  forage 
which  is  fed  to  domestic  animals.  This  forage  may  be  in 
the  form  of  green  herbage,  either  as  pasture  or  for  soiling; 
preserved  green  herbage,  or  silage;  or  dried  herbage,  as  hay, 
straw,  or  fodder.  A  feature  of  the  grasses  which  makes 
them  valuable  pasture  plants  is  the  location  of  the  growing 
point  of  the  leaf.  This  is  near  the  base,  so  that  the  tip  may 
be  grazed  or  clipped  off  several  times  and  the  leaf  still  con- 
tinue to  grow.  The  forage  grasses  add  variety  to  the  rota- 
tion, supplying  crops  which  may  be  used  as  meadows  or 
pastures,  or  short-season  crops  such  as  millet,  which  may 
be  used  to  occupy  the  land  when  an  earher-planted  crop  fails. 
The  perennial  varieties  add  a  mass  of  vegetable  matter  to 
the  soil.  They  thus  improve  its  physical  condition  and  their 
decay  increases  the  yield  of  annual  crops  which  follow.  They 
also  form  a  cover  which  prevents  the  loss  of  fertility  by  wash- 
ing and  other  means  of  erosion. 

369.  Comparative  Value  of  Different  Species.  The 
various  meadow  and  pasture  grasses  differ  Uttle  so  far  as  the 
feeding  value  of  their  products  is  concerned.  They  contain 
about  the  same  quantities  of  the  important  food  elements, 
and  these  elements  are  about  as  digestible  in  one  grass  or 
hay  as  in  another.  There  is  naturally  some  difference  in 
this  respect  among  the  many  species,  but  there  is  Ukely  to 
be  as  much  variation  between  samples  of  any  one  of  the 
important  grasses  when  grown  under  different  soil  and  cli- 
matic conditions  or  when  cut  at  different  stages  of  gro\^^th. 
There  is  a  verv  decided  variation  also  in  the  digestibihty  of 

19— 


290  FIELD  CROPS 

the  same  grass  when  cut  at  different  stages  for  hay,  the 
maximum  of  digestible  food  material  usually  being  present 
at  about  the  time  the  grass  is  in  bloom  or  a  httle  later. 

While  there  is  comparatively  little  difference  in  food 
value  among  the  grasses,  there  is  a  great  variation  in  palata- 
biUty.  Thus,  Kentucky  blue  grass  and  brome  grass  are 
among  our  most  palatable  pasture  grasses,  while  timothy 
makes  hay  which  ranks  high  in  this  regard.  Redtop  is  less 
palatable  as  pasture  than  Kentucky  blue  grass,  and  less  as 
hay  than  timothy.  Velvet  grass,  which  contains  as  much 
food  material  as  timothy,  is  not  eaten  by  stock  on  account  of 
the  numerous  hairs  on  the  stems  and  leaves.  Other  grasses 
are  unpalatable  for  other  reasons.  Different  animals  vary 
somewhat  as  to  their  choice  of  the  grasses,  so  that  some 
grasses  that  are  highly  palatable  to  cattle,  for  instance,  may 
be  less  so  to  sheep.  The  soil  and  the  proportion  of  the  dif- 
ferent elements  of  plant  food  which  it  contains  also  seem  to 
have  some  influence  on  palatability. 

REFERENCES 

Cyclopedia  of  American  Agriculture,  Vol.  II  Bailey. 

Farm  Crops,  Burkett. 

Field  Crop  Production,  Livingston. 

Forage  and  Fiber  Crops  in  America,  Hunt, 

Productive  Farm  Crops.  Montgomery. 

Grasses  and  How  to  Grow  Them,  Shaw. 

Farm  Grasses  of  the  United  States,  Spillman. 

Meadows  and  Pastures,  Wing. 


CHAPTER  XV  -:: 

PERENNIAL  GRASSES 

TIMOTHY 

370.  Origin.  Timothy,  Phleum  pratense,  is  a  native  of 
Europe.  Its  cultivation  in  this  country  dates  from  about 
1700.  Timothy  Hansen  first  grew  this  grass  in  Maryland, 
where  it  was  known  as  Timothy's  grass,  and  later  as  timothy. 
There  has  been  little  change  in  timothy  since  it  was  first 
cultivated,  and  only  in  the  last  few  years  have  attempts  teen 
made  to  improve  it  or  to  separate  it  into  varieties.  Even 
now,  it  is  not  possible  to  purchase  seed  of  any  distinct  variety 
of  timothy,  though  there  is  great  variation  among  the  plants. 
The  same  statement  may  be  made  with  equal  truth  regard- 
ing all  the  other  forage  grasses  and  most  of  the  leguminous 
forage  plants.  In  fact,  many  of  them  are  little  more  than 
plants  brought  in  from  the  wild,  with  no  effort  at  improve- 
ment. There  is  much  to  be  accomplished  in  the  breeding  of 
forage  crops  for  special  purposes,  and  great  increases  in  yields 
of  hay  or  pasture  may  be  confidently  expected  from  careful 
work  of  this  kind. 

371.  Description.  Timothy  is  a  rather  deep-rooting 
perennial  grass,  with  stems,  or  culms,  ranging  from  6  or  8 
inches  to  6  feet  high.  The  usual  height  is  from  23/^  to  4 
feet.  The  culms  are  usually  straight,  but  they  may  be  bent 
or  prostrate  at  the  base.  The  lower  node  of  the  culm  is  en- 
larged, forming  a  sort  of  bulb,  a  character  peculiar  to  this 
plant  among  the  grasses.  The  culm  leaves  are  much  more 
numerous  than  the  basal  leaves,  making  the  plant  valuable 
for  hay.  The  leaves  are  from  3  to  10  inches  long,  and  from  a 
quarter  to  a  half  inch  wide.  The  flowers  are  borne  in  a  long, 
close  spike,  usually  cylindrical  in  form,  from  one  and  a  half 

291 


?93 


FIELD  CROPS 


to  six  inches  in  length  and  a  quarter  to  a  third  of  an  inch  in 
diameter.  This  spike  is  made  up  of  many  one-flowered 
spikelets.  The  seed  is  about  one  twelfth  of  an  inch  long, 
silvery  gray  in  color,  and  usually  loosely  enclosed  in  the 

palea  and  flowering  glume.     It 

is  easily  removed  from  them  in 
threshing  and  cleaning,  however, 
and  many  of  the  seeds  are  com- 
monly without  a  covering. 

372.  Importance.  In  the 
Northeastern  and  North  Cen- 
tral states,  timothy  is  the  most 
important  meadow  grass,  and 
it  is  also  largely  used  as  past- 
ure. It  is  of  more  or  less  im- 
portance all  over  the  country 
except  in  the  extreme  South. 
No  other  grass  compares  with  it 
in  importance  as  a  hay  grass. 
Other  kinds  of  hay  are  sold  to 
some  extent,  but  timothy  is  the 
standard.  Out  of  a  total  area 
of  72,000,000  acres  devoted  to 
the  production  of  hay  and  other 
forage  in  the  United  States  in 
1909,  according  to  the  Census 
reports,  timothy  alone  was  grown  on  14,675,000  acres,  and 
timothy  and  clover  mixed  on  19,536,000  acres.  The  only 
other  class  of  hay  and  forage  which  compared  at  all  with 
timothy  in  acreage  was  the  combination  of  all  wild,  salt, 
and  prairie  grasses,  which  totaled  16,868,000  acres.  The 
production  of  timothy  hay  amounted  to  17,973,000  tons;  of 
timothy  and  clover  mixed,  24,743,000  tons;  and  of  wild,  salt, 
and  prairie  grasses,  18,117,000  tons.  The  estimated  average 
value  per  ton  in  the  United  States  in  1917  was  $18.33. 


Figure  99. — A  head  of  timothy,  the 
moat  common  tame  grass  of  the 
United  States. 


GRASS  SOILS  AND  FERTILIZERS 


29S 


373.  Soils  and  Fertilizers.  Timothy  grows  best  on  clay 
loam  soils  which  are  retentive  of  moisture,  though  it  thrives 
on  quite  a  variety  of  soils.  It  grows  better  in  moist  climates 
then  in  dry  ones,  and  on  fertile  loams  than  on  sandy  soils. 
It  does  not  grow  well  on  very  acid  soils,  redtop  being  a  much 
better  grass  for  such  locations.  The  liberal  use  of  stable 
manure  will  greatly  increase  the  yield  of  timothy,  while  the 
plowing  under  of  a 

leguminous    crop   be-  /  f 

fore  sowing,  or  the  use 
of  nitrogenous  fertiliz- 
ers also  produces  a 
heavier  growth.  In 
fact,  some  benefit  is 
derived  from  the  ni- 
trogen stored  in  the 
soil  by  leguminous 
crops,  such  as  clover, 
which  grow  with  the 
timothy.  Phosphate 
fertilizer  is  also  productive  of  a  good  response. 

374.  Seed  and  Seeding.  Timothy  seed  weighs  from  42 
to  50  pounds  to  the  bushel,  according  to  its  cleanness  from 
hulls.  The  legal  weight  in  most  states  is  45  pounds.  The 
usual  rate  of  seeding  is  from  8  to  12  pounds  to  the  acre, 
though  15  pounds  is  sometimes  sown.  When  sown  with 
clover,  7  to  10  pounds  of  timothy  is  sown  with  from  5  to  8 
pounds  of  clover.  Good,  clean  seed  of  a  high  percentage  of 
germination  should  be  used.  Timothy  seed  is  less  subject 
to  adulteration  than  the  seed  of  many  of  the  other  grasses 
and  clovers.  Redtop,  orchard  grass,  and  other  grass  seeds 
are  sometimes  found  in  it,  but  usually  in  small  quantities 
only.  *  The  seed  is  best  sown  with  a  broadcast  seeder  of  the 
wheelbarrow  type,  though  any  of  the  common  methods  are 
generally  satisfactor5%     A  light  harrowing  after  seeding  will 


Figure  100. — Seeds  of  timothy;  a,  with  husk, 
enlarged;  b,  husk  removed,  enlarged;  c,  nat- 
ural size. 


294  FIELD  CROPS 

cover  the  seed  to  a  sutficient  depth.  In  the  winter  wheat 
region,  timothy  is  generally  sown  in  the  fall  with  that  grain; 
farther  north,  it  is  sown  in  the  spring  with  spring  grain. 
When  sown  with  grain,  a  special  seeding  attachment  on  the 
drill  is  sometimes  used.  Of  recent  years,  July  and  August 
seeding  without  a  nurse  crop  is  in  favor  in  some  sections. 
As  the  seed  is  small,  it  should  not  be  covered  too  deeply;  a 
half  inch  is  usually  sufficient  except  in  dry  seasons. 

375.  Care  of  the  Meadow.  The  habit  of  growth  of 
timothy  makes  it  particularly  adapted  to  use  as  a  hay  grass. 
The  meadow  should  not  be  pastured  if  the  largest  yields  of 
hay  are  desired.  The  bulbs  produced  at  the  base  of  the 
culms  are  pulled  up  and  eaten  by  stock,  particularly  during 
dry  seasons  when  the  growth  of  the  grass  is  slow.  These 
bulbs  are  also  injured  by  the  trampling  of  stock,  so  that 
very  frequently,  especially  on  new  meadows,  more  is  lost 
in  damage  to  the  succeeding  crop  of  hay  than  is  gained  from 
the  use  of  the  pasture.  In  dry,  hot  weather,  timothy  should 
be  cut  with  rather  long  stubble  to  avoid  injury  to  the  bulbs. 
The  appUcation  of  a  top-dressing  of  stable  manure  in  the 
spring  or  after  the  hay  crop  has  been  removed  will  greatly 
increase  succeeding  crops.  Best  results  will  be  obtained 
from  the  use  of  this  manure  if  it  is  scattered  evenly  over  the 
meadow  with  a  manure  spreader. 

376.  Making  Hay.  Timothy  hay  is  most  readily  eaten 
by  cattle  if  it  is  cut  when  in  bloom;  horses  prefer  it  if  cut  a 
few  days  after  it  goes  out  of  bloom.  As  the  quantity  of 
dry  matter  produced  on  an  acre  increases  up  to  the  time  the 
seed  begins  to  ripen,  it  is  probable  that  the  larger  yield  of 
food  material  can  be  obtained  by  late  rather  than  by  early 
cutting.  When  a  large  acreage  is  to  be  harvested,  cutting 
should  begin  when  the  plants  come  into  blossom,  in  order 
to  complete  the  work  before  the  seed  is  ripe,  for  the  stems 
become  dry  and  woody  and  many  of  the  leaves  are  lost  after 
the  dough  stage  is  passed. 


VALUE  OF  HAY  2&5 

Timothy  is  usually  ready  to  cut  for  hay  in  July,  when 
the  best  conditions  are  presented  for  hay  making.  The 
plants  cure  readily  and  there  is  ordinarily  Httle  loss  from 
injury  by  rain  or  dew.  Little  or  no  extra  labor  is  required 
in  the  curing  of  the  hay.  It  seldom  needs  to  be  turned  with 
the  tedder  or  put  into  cocks  for  curing,  practically  as  good 
results  being  obtained  when  it  is  cured  in  the  swath  and 
hauled  immediatel}^  to  the  barn  or  stack.  A  few  hours  are 
usually  ample  to  cure  the  hay  sufficiently  for  storing. 

377.  Value  of  the  Hay.  The  prominence  of  timothy  as  a 
hay  grass  is  due  largely  to  the  ease  with  which  it  can  be  cured, 
the  certainty  of  getting  a  catch,  the  yields  of  hay  it  pro- 
duces, and  the  cheapness  of  the  seed.  It  is  not  particularly 
high  in  feeding  value,  though  the  fact  that  it  can  be  fed 
with  little  waste  and  that  all  classes  of  animals  eat  it  readily 
makes  it  a  general  favorite  on  the  market.  Timothy  hay 
usually  contains  about  6.2  per  cent  of  protein,  45  per  cent  of 
carbohydrates,  2.5  per  cent  of  fat,  and  29.9  per  cent  of  crude 
fiber.  Only  about  half  this  food  material  is  ordinarily 
digestible.  Timothy  is  somewhat  lower  in  protein  than 
most  of  the  other  grasses,  but  is  about  equal  to  them  in 
other  food  materials.     (Section  330). 

378.  Pasturing.  Although  timothy  is  not  adapted  to 
use  as  a  pasture  grass,  and  though  meadows  of  it  are  often 
seriously  injured  for  hay  production  by  pasturing,  this  grass 
is  often  used  for  pasture  purposes.  It  is  rather  a  common 
practice  to  cut  hay  from  a  timothy  and  clover  meadow  for 
one  or  two  seasons  and  then  to  pasture  it  for  a  year  or  more 
before  breaking  up  the  sod  to  plant  some  annual  crop. 
While  more  pasturage  could  be  obtained  from  any  one  of 
several  other  crops,  this  practice  is  a  convenient  one  and 
probably  will  continue  to  prevail.  Where  the  meadow  land 
is  to  be  pastured  for  a  year  or  more,  it  is  well  to  add  small 
quantities  of  seed  of  some  of  the  more  permanent  pasture 
plants,  such  as  Kentucky  blue  grass,  brome  grass,  and  white 


296  FIELD  CROPS 

clover.  These  will  not  make  enough  growth  to  be  v^ry 
noticeable  in  the  hay  during  the  first  year  or  two,  but  they 
will  become  firmly  established  by  the  time  it  is  desired  to 
use  the  land  as  pasture,  and  will  furnish  better  and  more 
permanent  pasture  than  timothy  and  clover  without  them. 

379.  Harvesting  the  Seed  Crop.  As  timothy  usually 
makes  but  Uttle  second  growth,  it  is  necessary  to  use  the 
first  crop  of  the  season  as  the  seed  crop.  It  is  allowed  to 
ripen  and  is  cut  with  the  grain  binder,  shocked,  and  handled 
in  every  way  similar  to  a  grain  crop.  The  usual  yield  is 
from  3  to  5  bushels  of  seed  to  the  acre.  Timothy  which  is 
grown  for  seed  should  be  free  from  weeds  and  from  mixtures 
of  other  grasses.  The  price  of  the  seed  varies  somewhat 
from  season  to  season,  but  it  is  almost  always  possible  to 
sow  an  acre  of  timothy  at  less  cost  than  an  acre  of  any  other 
grass.  This  reason  probablj'  accounts  for  the  fact  that 
timothy  is  so  generally  sown. 

KENTUCKY  BLUE  GRASS 

380.  Origin  and  Description.  Kentucky  blue  grass,  Poa 
pratensis,  is  either  a  native  of  the  United  States  from  Pennsyl- 
vania west  to  the  Mississippi  River,  or  it  was  introduced 
from  Europe  at  a  very  early  date.  It  is  also  called  June 
grass,  wire  grass,  and  spear  grass.  It  is  now  commonly 
found  as  far  south  as  Tennessee  and  as  far  west  as  eastern 
Nebraska.  It  is  a  rather  shallow-rooted  grass,  but  makes 
a  close,  even  sod,  and  one  which  is  not  easily  injured  by 
trampling  or  close  grazing.  The  culms  do  not  grow  more 
than  2  feet  tall.  The  cuhn  leaves  are  scanty,  not  more  than 
6  inches  long  and  }4  iiich  broad,  but  the  basal  leaves  are 
numerous  and  much  larger,  making  the  plant  valuable  for 
pasture.  The  flowers  are  produced  in  open,  spreading  pani- 
cles; the  spikelets  are  from  three  to  five-flowered.  The 
grain,  or  caryopsis,  is  enclosed  in  the  flowering  glume  and 
palea.    The  seed,  that  is,  the  grain  and  its  enclosing  envelope 


RELATED  GKAtSiiES 


297 


is  from  one  tenth  to  one  sixth  of  an  inch  in  length.  Canada 
blue  grass  seed,  which  is  often  used  as  an  adulterant,  is 
shorter,  less  pointed,  and  is  generally  cleaner  in  appearance. 
The  legal  weight  of  a 
bushel  of  Kentucky 
blue  grass  seed  is  14 
pounds,  but  recleaned 
seed  will  often  weigh 
25  pounds  or  more  to 
the  bushel.  The  seed 
ripens  in  June,  hence 
the  name  June  grass. 
381.  Related  Plants. 
Other  species  of  Poa 
are  of  some  import- 
ance as  pasture  or 
meadow  grasses  in 
limited  sections  of  the 
country,  particularl;\' 
in  New  York  and  New 
England.  Canada 
blue  grass,  Poa  com- 
pressa,  is  of  some  value 
as  a  pasture  grass  in 
some  sections  of  east- 
ern Canada,  New 
York,  and  New  Eng- 
land. It  grows  on 
poorer,  heavier  claj^ 
soils  than  Kentucky 

blue  grass  and  largely  takes  the  place  of  that  grass  in  such 
locations.  Where  Kentucky  blue  grass  will  thrive,  it  is  to 
be  preferred  to  Canada  blue  grass,  but  in  certain  locations 
the  latter  is  superior.  The  seed  is  frequently  used  as  an 
adulterant  of  Kentucky  blue  grass.     The  main  differences 


At 

r^ 

Figure  101. — A  panicle  of  Kentucky  blue  grass. 


298 


FIELD  CROPS 


in  the  appearance  of  the  two  grasses  are  that  the  stems  of 
Kentucky  blue  grass  are  round,  while  those  of  Canada  blue 
grass  are  flattened  or  compressed;  the  leaves  of  the  latter 
are  shorter  and  less  numerous,  and  the  panicles  are  less 
spreading.  Other  related  grasses  are  wood  meadow  grass, 
Poa  nemoralis,  and  fowl  meadow  grass,  Poaflava.     Neither 

of  these  is  of  much  im- 
portance, though  they 
are  grown  to  some  extent 
in  limited  areas. 

382.  Importance.  In 
the  region  from  Virginia 
north  to  the  Canadian 
border  and  west  to  east- 
ern Kansas  and  Nebras- 
ka, Kentucky  blue  grass 
is  the  most  important 
pasture  grass.  It  is  of 
particular  value  in  this 
region  wherever  there  is 
a  noticeable  quantity  of 
lime  in  the  soil,  as  this 
element  seems  specially  necessary  for  its  best  growth.  In  the 
mountain  valleys  of  Virginia  and  West  Virginia,  and  quite 
generally  over  much  of  Kentucky,  this  grass  thrives  as 
nowhere  else,  though  in  the  limestone  regions  of  other 
states  it  makes  a  very  vigorous,  nutritious  growth.  With 
white  clover,  it  makes  up  a  very  large  part  of  our  pastures. 
It  is  sown  comparatively  little,  but  seeds  itself  in  old  meadows 
and  pastures,  gradually  replacing  the  shorter-lived  grasses. 
It  is  also  the  most  important  lawn  grass  over  this  area. 

383.  Soils  and  Fertilizers.  Though  Kentucky  blue  grass 
grows  best  on  Ume  soils,  it  will  thrive  on  well-drained  loam 
and  loamy  clay  soils  of  the  region  mentioned.  It  will 
not  grow  on  as  heavy  clay  soils  as  timothy  or  red  top,  nor 


Figure  102. — Seeds  of  (o)  Kentucky  blue 
grass;  and  (h)  Canada  blue  grass.  The 
Kentucky  blue  grass  seeds  are  broadest 
in  the  center  and  pointed;  the  Canada 
blue  grass  seeds  are  broadest  at  one  end 
and  blunt. 


SEEDING  GRASSES  299 

will  it  do  well  on  sandy  land.  Since  the  root  system  is  shal- 
low, it  is  not  adapted  to  dry  sections  nor  to  dry  locations.  It 
grows  better  under  shade  than  many  of  the  other  grasses, 
and  is  particularly  suited  to  open  woodland  pastures. 

Blue  grass  pastures  may  be  improved  by  spreading  barn- 
yard manure  over  them  in  the  fall  or  early  winter.  Nitrogen 
may  be  applied  in  the  spring  after  the  grass  has  started  to 
grow,  and  fall  and  spring  dressings  of  phosphates  and  potash 
are  beneficial. 

384:.  Seeding.  The  germination  of  the  seed  is  frequently 
low,  so  that  heavy  seeding  is  necessary.  Seed  should  not 
be  purchased  until  a  germination  test  has  been  made.  When 
the  grass  is  sown  alone  for  immediate  results,  as  in  the  case 
of  lawns,  as  much  as  40  pounds  may  be  sown  to  the  acre.  If 
sown  in  a  mixture  with  other  grasses,  some  of  which  will 
make  a  quick  growth  which  in  the  course  of  a  few  years  will 
be  largely  replaced  bj^  blue  grass,  from  10  to  12  pounds  will 
be  sufficient.  On  account  of  its  slowness  in  occupying  the 
land  and  making  adequate  returns,  Kentucky  blue  grass  is 
seldom  sown  alone  for  pasture.  It  is  either  sown  in  a  mix- 
ture or  is  not  sown  at  all,  the  natural  growth  of  the  plant 
being  depended  on  to  occupy  the  land  after  it  has  been  pas- 
tured for  a  few  years.  Even  when  seeded,  it  does  not  make 
much  of  a  showing  for  three  or  four  years  and  then  con- 
tinues to  improve  for  several  years  thereafter.  Best  re- 
sults are  obtained  from  sowing  late  in  the  fall  or  early  in  the 
spring,  either  with  or  without  a  nurse  crop. 

385.  Pasturing.  Kentucky  blue  grass  begins  to  grow 
early  in  the  spring  and  continues  its  growth  till  late  in  the 
fall,  but  it  does  not  grow  well  in  hot,  diy  weather.  For  this 
reason,  it  needs  to  be  supplemented  to  some  extent  during 
July  and  August.  It  is  well  to  provide  some  extra  feed 
for  stock  during  these  months,  in  the  way  of  silage  or  an 
annual  pasture  or  soiUng  crop.  Blue  grass  is  one  of  our  most 
nutritious  and  palatable  pasture  grasses.     Cattle  prefer  it 


300 


FIELD  CROPS 


to  timothy  or  redtop,  but  will  eat  brome  grass  in  preference 
to  it.  No  special  care  is  needed  by  pastures  made  up  of 
white  clover  and  Kentucky  blue  grass.     On  land  to  which 

they  are  adapted,  these  plants  will 
naturally  improve  from  year  to 
3^ear,  as  most  of  the  fertility  is  re- 
turned to  the  soil  in  the  manure, 
and  the  clover  increases  the  supply 
of  nitrogen. 

386.  Care  of  Lawns.    Thorough 
preparation  of  the  soil  and  thick 
seeding  are  necessarj^  to  get  im- 
mediate results  in    lawns  and  to 
keep  down  weeds.     No  better  lawn 
can  be  made  in  our  Northern  states 
than  one  composed  of  blue  grass 
and  white  clover.      Frequent  chp- 
ping  only  serves  to  improve  it.     If 
a   good   stand   is  obtained,  there 
will  be  little  trouble  from  weeds, 
as  there  will  be  no  room  for  them. 
Lawns  should  not  be  clipped  too 
closely  or  too  frequently  in  hot, 
dry  weather,    for    the    roots   are 
likely  to  ''burn  out"  from  exposure 
to  the  sun.     The  land  should  be 
kept  rich  by  the  addition  of  manure 
ri,uro  ic3.-Panicie  of  Carada    o^    commorclal    fortlUzers,  as  the 
SlTeafSSad^nrpaSiro^Ken!    fertility  is  rapidly  removed  in  the 
tuoky  blue  grass  in  Figure  101.    clippings.      The  lawu  should  be 
allowed  to  go  into  the  winter  with  a  good  growth  of  grass. 
387.  Harvesting  Blue   Grass   Seed.    Most  of  the  seed 
of  Kentucky  blue  grass  is  produced  in  a  small  area  near 
Lexington.     The  seed  is  stripped  from  the  heads  by  horse 
machines  as  soon  as  the  panicles  begin  to  turn  yellow,  gen- 


RED TOP 


301 


erally  about  the  second  week  in  June.     It  is  then  piled  in 
windrows  3  or  4  feet  deep  to  cure,  and  is  stirred  thoroughly 
every  day  to  keep  it  from  heating.     It  is  cured  in  about  ten 
days,  when  it  is  cleaned  and 
prepared  for  market,    A  good 
yield  of  seed  as  it  is  ordinarily 
cleaned  is  from  125  to  200 
pounds  to  the  acre.      When 
the  seed  is  cleaned  to  weigh 
24   pounds  or  more  to  the 
bushel,  the  yield  seldom  ex- 
ceeds 75  or  100  pounds. 

REDTOP 

388.  Origin  and  Descrip- 
tion. RedtopfA  grostis  alba, is 
a  native  of  the  United  States, 
growing  wild  over  a  large 
portion  of  the  country.  The 
plant  does  not  root  deeply, 
but  makes  a  firm,  close  sod, 
for  rootstocks  are  produced  in 
large  numbers.  It  is  valuable 
to  prevent  washing,  and  is  not 
injured  by  trampling.  The 
culms  grow  from  1  to  3  feet 
tall.  They  are  often  pros- 
trate or  recumbent  at  the 
base  and  root  freely  at  the  nodes  where  they  come  in  contact 
with  the  soil.  The  basal  and  culm  leaves  are  both  quite 
nunierous.  The  flowers  are  borne  in  an  open,  branching 
panicle  which  contains  many  one-flowered  spikelets.  The 
grass  may  be  distinguished  from  Kentucky  blue  grass,  which 
it  resembles  to  some  extent,  by  its  one-flowered  spikelets, 
later  flowering,  and  the  reddish  or  purpHsh  color  of  the  glumes. 


Figure  104.— Redtop,    a   good  grass    for 
wet  lands. 


302  FIELD  CROPS 

It  comes  into  flower  about  six  weeks  later  than  blue  grass. 
The  grain,  which  is  only  about  one  twenty-fifth  of  an  inch 
long,  is  enclosed  in  the  flowering  glume,  which  is  about  one 
and  one  half  times  as  long  as  the  grain.  The  seed  weighs 
about  12  pounds  to  the  bushel  before  it  is  separated  from  the 
outer  glumes;  but  recleaned  seed  may  weigh  as  much  as  36 
pounds  to  the  bushel. 

389.  Related  Plants.  A  variety  of  redtop  called  creep- 
ing bent,  Agrostis  alba  vulgaris,  is  grown  to  some  extent  in 
the  Eastern  states.  It  makes  a  finer,  more  slender  growth 
than  the  ordinary  redtop  which  is  grown  for  hay,  grows 
closer  to  the  ground,  and  is  better  adapted  for  use  in  pas- 
tures and  lawns.  There  are  all  gradations  in  form  between 
creeping  bent  and  redtop.  Another  closely  related  grass 
which  is  grown  in  lawns,  on  hesivj  clay  soils,  and  in  places 
where  Kentucky  blue  grass  does  not  grow  well,  is  Rhode 
Island  bent,  A  grostis  canina,  a  small  form  with  a  creeping  habit. 
Neither  of  these  grasses  is  of  any  value  for  hay  production. 

390.  Importance.  Redtop  probably  ranks  next  to  timo- 
thy in  importance  as  a  hay  grass  over  the  region  where 
timothy  is  grown.  Its  range,  however,  is  wider  than  that 
of  either  timothy  or  blue  grass,  and  it  is  most  important 
where  those  grasses  are  sparingly  grown.  It  thrives  in  New 
England,  as  far  south  as  the  northern  end  of  the  Gulf  states, 
and  on  wet  lands  to  the  Pacific  Coast.  It  grows  on  soils 
and  in  locations  where  timothy  will  not  grow,  and  produces 
good  yields  of  hay.  The  hay  is  about  equal  to  timothy  in 
feeding  value,  though  it  is  not  as  palatable  and  is  not  in 
general  favor.  As  a  pasture  grass,  it  is  not  well  liked  by 
stock,  but  it  forms  a  sod  more  quickly  than  Kentucky  blue 
grass,  stands  pasturing  well,  and  yields  an  abundance  of 
succ\ilent  feed.  It  is  not  generally  sown  except  on  soils  that 
are  too  heavy,  wet,  or  acid  for  timothy  or  blue  grass  to 
thrive.  Redtop  is  objectionable  in  timothy  meadows 
because  it  lowers  the  market  value  of  the  timothy  hay. 


ORCHARD  GRASS  303 

391.  Soils.  Redtop  will  grow  on  a  wide  range  of  soils, 
though  it  does  best  in  moist  locations.  On  poor,  undrained, 
or  acid  soils  it  has  no  superior.  It  produces  a  thick  sod  and 
adds  much  vegetable  matter  to  the  soil,  so  that  it  is  of  great 
value  in  building  up  poor  clay  land. 

392.  Seeding.  The  rate  of  seeding  depends  on  the 
quality  of  the  seed  and  whether  it  is  grown  alone  or  in  a  mix- 
ture. When  recleaned  seed  is  sown,  from  12  to  15  pounds  to 
the  acre  is  sufficient  when  sown  alone,  or  6  to  8  pounds 
when  sown  with  other  grasses.  Redtop  is  commonly  mixed 
with  timothy  and  alsike  clover.  The  seed  is  sown  in  the 
same  manner  as  timothy  seed,  but  care  must  be  taken  not 
to  cover  it  too  deeply.  Redtop  seed  is  cut  and  threshed  in 
the  same  manner  as  timothy  seed.  Most  of  the  redtop  seed 
is  produced  in  southern  Illinois. 

ORCHARD  GRASS 

393.  Origin  and  Description.  Orchard  grass,  Dactylis 
glomerata,  is  a  native  of  Europe,  but  is  now  found  quite 
generally,  though  sparingly,  throughout  the  United  States 
except  in  the  semi  arid  sections.  It  is  rather  more  deeply 
rooted  than  timothy,  the  roots  often  penetrating  to  a  depth 
of  at  least  2  feet.  The  plant  grows  in  tufts,  or  bunches,  and 
does  not  spread  by  creeping  rootstocks.  I'he  culms  are  from 
2  to  3  feet  tall.  The  culm  leaves  are  rather  scanty,  but  are 
sometimes  as  much  as  2  feet  in  length,  and  are  broader  than 
the  leaves  of  most  other  grasses.  The  flowers  are  produced 
in  June,  about  the  same  time  as  those  of  red  clover.  They 
are  borne  in  a  one-sided  panicle,  the  spikelets  being  in  dense 
clusters  and  containing  three  or  four  flowers.  The  grain  is 
enclosed  in  the  flowering  glume,  and  is  about  one  tenth  of 
an  inch  long,  while  the  flowering  glume  is  one  sixth  of  an 
inch  or  more  in  length. 

394.  Importance.  Orchard  grass  is  not  commonly  grown 
in  this  country  except  along  the  southern  border  of  the 


304 


FIELD  CROPS 


timothy  region.  In  Virginia,  North  Carolina,  Tennessee, 
Kentucky,  and  Arkansas,  it  is  quite  a  prominent  hay  grass. 
It  is  also  grown  to  some  extent  along  the  Pacific  Coast.  It 
produces  a  rather  light  yield  of  hay,  while  its  tendency  to 

crowd  out  other  grasses 
and  yet  grow  in  bunches 
which  do  not  fully  occupy 
the  ground  make  it  of 
doubtful  worth  where  tim- 
othy will  succeed.  Its 
habit  of  maturing  with  red 
clover  makes  it  of  value 
for  growing  in  mixtures 
with  that  legume.  It  will 
thrive  in  drier  and  shadier 
locations  than  redtop,  and 
is  of  value  in  open  wood- 
land pastures.  Orchard 
grass  grows  best  on  fertile, 
well-drained  soils.  It 
stands  drought  better  than 
timothy,  though  it  re- 
quires rather  more  moist- 
ure for  its  best  develop- 
ment than  that  grass. 

395.  Seeding.  The 
seed  of  orchard  grass 
weighs  from  14  to  22 
pounds  to  the  bushel,  according  to  its  freedom  from  chaff. 
It  is  usually  high  in  germination.  It  is  sown  in  the  same 
manner  as  timothy,  though  seeding  by  hand  is  the  common 
practice  when  it  is  sown  alone.  The  rate  of  seeding 
when  grown  for  hay  is  about  35  pounds  to  the  acre;  when 
sown  in  mixtures,  orchard  grass  makes  up  only  a  small  part 
of  the  mixture,  not  more  than  6  or  8  pounds  being  used. 


Figure  105. 


-Orchard  grass,  a  hay  grass  of  val- 
ue in  some  localities. 


BERMUDA   GRASS 


305 


Most  of  the  seed  is  produced  in  a  small  section  in  the  vicinity 
of  Louisville.  The  crop  is  cut  with  a  binder  as  soon  as  the 
heads  turn  hght  yellow,  and  the  bundles  are  set  up  in  small 
shocks  to  cure.  When  cured,  m  about  two  or  three  weeks, 
the  seed  is  threshed  with  an  ordinary  threshing  machine 
which  has  been  provided  with  special  screens. 

396.  Utilization.  When  grown  for 
hay,  orchard  grass  should  be  cut  when  it 
is  in  flower,  for  it  rapidly  decreases  in 
palatability  and  food  value  after  that 
time.  The  yield  of  hay  is  fairly  good, 
and  the  hay,  if  cut  at  the  right  time,  is 
valuable  for  feeding.  It  is  seldom  or 
never  found  on  the  market,  as  only  small 
quantities  are  produced ;  but,  where  it  is 
known,  it  is  well  regarded.  Orchard 
grass  produces  an  abundance  of  basal 
leaves  early  in  the  sprmg,  so  that  it  is 
valuable  for  early  pasture.  As  it  does  not 
form  a  close  turf,  it  does  not  stand  pas- 
turing as  well  as  blue  grass  or  even  timothy.  It  lasts  only 
three  or  four  years  when  closely  grazed. 

BERMUDA  GRASS 

397.  Origin  and  Description.  Bermuda  grass,  Cynodon 
dactylon,  was  introduced  into  southern  United  States  from 
the  West  Indies  about  two  hundred  years  ago.  It  is  a  native 
of  tropical  and  semitropical  countries  throughout  the  world. 
It  is  a  low-growing  grass  which  spreads  by  means  of  running 
stems  both  above  and  below  the  surface  of  the  soil,  forming 
a  thick  sod  which  is  not  easily  injured  by  grazing,  tramping, 
or  clipping.  The  culms  grow  from  6  inches  to  2  feet  high, 
the  latter  height  being  reached  only  under  the  most  favor- 
able conditions.  Though  the  culms  bear  few  leaves,  the 
numerous  running  stems  are  leafy,  and  the  total  quantity 

20— 


lire  106. — Bermuda 
grass. 


306  FIELD  CROPS 

of  herbage  which  is  produced  is  large.  The  flowers  are 
borne  in  one-flowered  spikelets  in  one-sided  spikes,  the  cuhns 
producing  from  three  to  five  of  these  spikes.  The  seed  sel- 
dom matures  in  the  United  States,  most  of  that  which  is 
sown  being  imported  from  Austraha.  Bermuda  grass  can 
not  be  grown  successfully  north  of  Virginia,  Tennessee, 
Arkansas,  and  Oklahoma. 

398.  Cultivation.  Bermuda  grass  will  grow  on  almost 
any  soil,  though  it  makes  a  stronger  and  more  vigorous 
growth  on  fertile  loam  than  on  any  other  type.  It  requires 
a  liberal  supply  of  water  for  its  best  growth  and  is  not  par- 
ticularly resistant  to  long  droughts.  Unlike  blue  grass,  how- 
ever, it  continues  to  grow  during  the  hottest  months  of 
summer,  even  though  droughts  occur.  As  the  seed  is  scarce 
and  high  in  price,  new  fields  are  usually  started  from  small 
pieces  of  sod.  The  sod  is  plowed  just  beneath  the  surface, 
not  more  than  2  or  3  inches  deep,  and  the  strips  are  then  cut 
or  broken  into  small  pieces.  These  soon  take  root  when 
planted  and  the  running  stems  form  a  solid  turf  by  the  end 
of  the  season.  In  making  lawns,  it  is  customary  to  set  these 
pieces  of  sod  about  a  foot  apart  each  way  in  well-prepared 
soil.  In  field  culture,  the  land  need  not  be  so  carefulty  pre- 
pared and  the  sods  may  be  placed  at  greater  intervals.  If 
they  are  dropped  in  furrows  18  inches  to  2  feet  apart  each 
way  and  covered  by  plowing  the  furrows  shut  or  by  dragging, 
they  will  soon  start  into  growth  and  will  completely  cover 
the  ground  in  a  year.  The  best  time  to  do  this  planting  is 
in  the  spring  after  danger  of  frost  is  past.  Hay  meadows 
are  improved  by  plowing  or  disking  eveiy  few  years  and 
then  harrowing  down  level  again,  for  they  are  Hkely  to  become 
sodbound  and  unproductive  if  left  undisturbed. 

399.  Uses.  Bermuda  grass  is  to  the  South  what  Ken- 
tucky blue  grass  is  to  the  North,  the  most  important  pasture 
grass.  It  is  perhaps  not  quite  so  nutritious  as  blue  grass, 
but  it  produces  an  abundance  of  pasture  throughout  the 


ERADICATION   OF  BERMUDA    GRASS  307 

summer  months  and  is  far  superior  to  any  other  southern 
pasture  grass.  Its  principal  faults  are  that  it  is  slow  in 
starting  into  growth  in  the  spring  and  is  easily  killed  by 
frost  in  the  fall.  Bermuda  pasture,  however,  may  be  sup- 
plemented during  the  fall  and  spring  months  by  sowing  bur 
clover  and  rescue  grass  seed  on  the  Bermuda  sod  in  the  early 
fall.  These  plants  start  into  growth  about  the  time  the 
Bermuda  grass  ceases,  and  are  at  their  best  while  it  is  dor- 
mant. They  have  practicallj^  completed  their  growth  in 
the  spring  when  Bermuda  grass  again  becomes  green.  Where 
weather  conditions  are  favorable  this  combination  will  fur- 
nish pasture  practically  throughout  the  year. 

Bermuda  grass  is  unsurpassed  as  a  lawn  grass  in  the 
South,  though  its  late  start  in  the  spring  and  its  dead  appear- 
ance during  the  winter  are  objectionable.  It  is  a  profit- 
able hay  grass  only  on  the  better  class  of  soils.  On  moist, 
fertile  loams  it  will  produce  three  or  four  cuttings  of  haj^ 
during  the  season.  The  yield  of  the  separate  cuttings  is 
not  heavy,  but  the  total  yield  for  the  season  compares 
favorably  with  the  best  northern  hay  grasses,  and  the  hay 
is  of  good  quality.  Cutting  should  not  be  delayed  too  long, 
as  the  stems  soon  become  wiry  and  unpalatable.  As  Ber- 
muda grass  will  grow  on  light  sand,  on  clay  embankments, 
and  on  various  other  soils,  and  as  it  soon  forms  a  thick  turf, 
it  is  one  of  the  best  soil-binding  grasses  we  have.  It  is  use- 
ful in  preventing  sands  from  blowing  and  banks  and  rough 
fields  from  washing. 

400.  Eradication.  A  gi-ass  which  grows  as  freely  from 
running  stems  and  is  so  vigorous  is  naturally  somewhat 
difficult  to  eradicate,  unless  its  habits  are  well  understood. 
Except  in  a  few  localities  in  the  extreme  southern  part  of  the 
United  States,  however,  it  does  not  produce  seed,  and  so  the 
problem  is  somewhat  simplified.  The  sod  may  be  killed  by 
shallow  plowing,  not  more  than  2  inches  deep,  either  in  hot, 
dry  weather  in  summer  or  just  before  a  cold  spell  in  winter. 


308  FIELD  CROPS 

In  the  first  case,  it  dries  out,  and,  in  the  second,  it  is  killed 
by  frost.  As  this  grass  will  not  grow  in  shade,  it  is  easily 
killed  by  planting  the  field  to  an  annual  crop  which  will  make 
a  dense  growth,  as  oats,  sorghum,  or  cowpeas.  Thorough 
plowing  and  good  preparation,  so  as  to  insure  a  quick,  vigor- 
ous growth  of  the  planted  crop,  are  necessary.  Sorghum  is 
perhaps  one  of  the  best  smother  crops,  as  it  grows  rapidl}^ 
and  makes  a  dense  shade  if  planted  thickly. 

JOHNSON  GRASS 

401.  Origin  and  Description.  Johnson  grass,  Andropogon 
halepensis,  is  a  native  of  southern  Europe  and  Asia  which  is 
now  common  throughout  the  Southern  states.  It  is  a  strong, 
vigorous-growing  grass  with  large  underground  stolons,  by 
which  it  spreads  rapidly.  It  produces  culms  from  4  to  7 
feet  high,  with  numerous  leaves  1  foot  or  more  long  and  }/2 
to  1  inch  wide.  The  flowers  are  borne  in  panicles,  resembling 
those  of  sorghum,  to  which  it  is  closely  related.  In  fact,  the 
entire  plant  except  the  perennial  underground  stems  closely 
resembles  a  small  plant  of  sorghum.  The  spikelets  are  in 
pairs  at  the  nodes  or  in  threes  at  the  ends  of  the  branches, 
only  one  of  these  spikelets  containing  a  perfect  flower.  The 
grain  is  free  from  the  glumes  and  is  similar  in  appearance 
to  sorghum  seed.  The  plant  seeds  freely  in  all  the  Southern 
states  and,  as  it  spreads  rapidly  by  both  the  stolons  and  the 
seeds,  it  is  generally  regarded  one  of  the  worst  weeds  of  that 
section. 

Another  species  of  this  genus  is  Sorghum  halepense,  a 
tall,  coarse  annual.  Different  varieties  of  this  are  cultivated 
for  their  saccharine  juice  or  for  forage. 

402.  Importance.  While  Johnson  grass  is  a  bad  weed,  it 
is  also  one  of  the  best  southern  hay  plants.  It  will  grow 
on  a  wide  range  of  soils  and  in  all  locations,  thriving  where 
there  is  an  abundance  of  water,  yet  enduring  drought  well. 
It  does  not  grow  during  a  drought,  but  starts  at  once  into 


ERADICATION  OF  JOHNSON  GRASS  309 

growth  when  rains  come.  It  yields  two  or  three  good  crops 
of  hay  during  the  season,  which,  if  cut  at  the  proper  time,  are 
palatable  and  nutritious.  It  is  of  some  value  as  a  pasture 
crop,  though  the  pasture  is  of  short  duration,  because  the 
grass  does  not  stand  grazing  well.  Like  other  grasses  with 
strong  stolons,  it  produces  larger  yields  of  pasture  or  hay  if 
the  sod  is  broken  every  two  or  three  years.  The  growth  of 
the  plant  is  confined  almost  entirely  to  the  South  Atlantic 
and  Gulf  states,  though  it  is  also  found  to  some  extent  in 
California.  It  is  not  a  troublesome  weed  where  the  ground 
ordinarily  freezes  to  a  depth  of  6  inches  or  more. 

403.  Eradication.  To  eradicate  Johnson  grass,  it  is 
necessary  to  prevent  it  from  producing  seed  and  to  guard 
against  the  introduction  of  seed  to  the  field  by  hay,  manure, 
or  any  other  carrier.  The  easiest  method  of  eradicating  it  is 
to  pasture  the  field  for  a  j^ear  or  two,  when  the  roots  will  all 
be  close  to  the  surface.  Then,  if  the  sod  is  broken  late  in  the 
fall  very  shallow,  not  more  than  3  or  4  inches,  so  that  these 
roots  are  just  turned  over,  many  of  them  will  be  killed  by 
frost.  In  the  spring,  the  land  should  be  worked  frequently 
enough  with  the  disk  harrow  to  prevent  all  top  growth. 
About  the  first  of  June,  it  should  be  planted  to  cotton  or 
some  other  crop  which  can  be  given  thorough  cultivation, 
to  prevent  top  growth  from  the  few  Johnson  grass  roots  which 
remain,  or  some  rank-growing  crop  Hke  cowpeas  may  be 
sown  to  smother  out  the  grass.  Another  method  which  is 
reconmiended  is  to  plow  the  land  thoroughly  in  the  spring 
and  cultivate  it  at  intervals  during  the  spring  and  summer, 
thus  smothering  the  roots  by  preventing  them  from  produc- 
ing top  growth.  By  this  method,  the  use  of  the  land  is  lost 
for  a  year.  Thorough  cultivation  and  a  good  rotation  will 
most  effectively  keep  Johnson  grass  in  check,  as  they  will 
any  other  weed,  and  it  is  an  open  question  whether  the 
southern  farmer  will  not  yet  find  that  Johnson  grass  is  a  very 
useful  plant  and  one  which  he  has  little  reason  to  fear. 


310  FIELD  CROPS 

BROME  GRASS 

404.  Origin  and  Description.  Brome  grass,  Bromus 
ifiermis,  is  a  native  of  Europe,  from  which  country  it  was 
introduced  into  the  United  States  at  a  comparatively  recent 
date.  It  is  variously  know  as  Russian  brome,  smooth  brome 
grass,  and  awnless  brome  grass.  It  is  a  deep-rooting,  stol- 
oniferous  grass,  with  an  abundance  of  root  leaves  and  a 
good  supply  of  culm  leaves.  The  culms  are  erect,  from  23^ 
to  4  feet  tall,  bearing  a  spreading  panicle  from  6  to  10  inches 
long.  The  spikelets  are  about  1  inch  long,  one  fourth  as 
broad,  and  contain  several  flowers.  The  seeds  are  three 
eighths  to  one  half  inch  long,  and  are  awnless.  The  grain, 
or  caryopsis,  is  about  one  fourth  of  an  inch  in  length,  and 
is  brown  in  color. 

405.  Related  Plants.  Che^ity  or  chesSy  Brojti us  secalinus, 
is  an  annual  grass  which  is  a  common  weed  in  grain  fields, 
particularly  in  winter  wheat  and  other  winter  grains.  It 
makes  such  a  vigorous  growth  in  fields  of  winter  grain  where 
the  stand  is  thin  as  to  give  rise  to  the  somewhat  common 
belief  that  'Vheat  turns  to  cheat."  The  grass  is  of  little 
value  for  hay.  Rescue  grass,  or  Schrader's  brome  grass, 
Bromus  unioloides,  is  of  some  value  in  the  South  as  a  winter 
pasture  grass  (Section  399).  There  are  numerous  other 
species  of  Bromus  in  various  sections  of  the  United  States, 
but  none  of  them  are  of  apparent  value. 

406.  Importance.  Brome  grass  is  of  such  recent  intro- 
duction into  this  country  that  its  value  is  not  yet  well  under- 
stood. It  seems  to  be  unquestionably  the  best  tame  pasture 
grass  for  the  Great  Plains  region  and  the  Pacific  Northwest, 
and  it  is  of  more  or  less  value  throughout  the  North  Central 
and  Northeastern  states.  It  will  probably  be  many  years, 
however,  before  it  replaces  Kentucky  blue  grass  to  any  ex- 
tent in  the  Northeastern  states  as  a  pasture  grass,  or  timothy 
as  a  hay  grass.  It  does  not  thrive  in  the  South  and  should 
not  be  sown  farther  south  than  central  Kansas,  except  at 


BROME  QRA88 


311 


high  elevations.  Its  numerous  deep  roots  enable  it  to  with- 
stand drought  better  than  any  of  our  other  cultivated  grasses, 
which  explains  its  value  in  the  Great  Plains  and  Intermoun- 
tain  districts.  It  has  been  cultivated  for  many  centuries  in 
southern  and  central  Russia,  in  a 
climate  very  similar  to  our  Great 
Plains  region. 

407.  Seeding  and  Cultivation. 
The  method  of  seeding  is  not  differ- 
ent from  that  of  timothy.  It  does 
much  better  on  loam  or  clay  soils 
than  on  those  of  a  sandy  nature. 
It  grows  fairly  well  on  sandy  soils, 
however,  when  once  established,  the 
difficulty  being  to  prevent  injury 
from  blowing  sands  until  a  sod  is 
formed.  The  usual  rate  of  seeding 
is  from  15  to  20  pounds  to  the  acre 
when  sown  alone;  when  sown  in  mix- 
tures, 6  to  10  pounds  is  sufficient. 
Spring  seeding  is  most  commonly 
practiced,  though  the  grass  may  be 
sown  in  the  fall  with  winter  wheat, 

if  conditions  are  favorable.  The  seed  crop  is  cut  with  the 
binder  and  is  shocked  and  threshed  like  any  grain  crop. 
Yields  of  from  400  to  500  pounds  of  seed  to  the  acre  are 
frequently  obtained.  The  stubble  may  be  cut  for  hay,  as 
most  of  the  leaves  are  near  the  base  of  the  stalk  and  are  left 
by  the  binder. 

In  permanent  brome  grass  meadow,  the  sodbound  con- 
dition which  is  likely  to  develop  may  be  prevented  by  thor- 
ough disking  without  plowing  at  intervals  of  a  year  or  two. 
Pastures  will  also  be  improved  by  disking.  There  is  some 
complaint  of  difficulty  in  eradicating  brome  grass  when  it 
is  desired  to  plant  the  land  to  a  new  crop,  but  this  is  largely 


Figure  107.  —  Brome  grass. 
Note  the  running  root- 
stocks. 


312  FIELD  CROPS 

due  to  poor  plowing  and  indifferent  cultivation.  Turning 
the  sod  completely  over  so  that  none  of  it  is  exposed  to  the 
sui'face,  followed  by  the  growth  of  a  cultivated  crop,  will 
usually  be  effective  in  preventing  the  growth  of  this  grass. 

408.  Uses.  As  previously  stated,  the  best  use  of  brome 
grass  is  for  the  production  of  pasturage  in  the  Great  Plains 
and  Rocky  IMountain  states.  It  is  useful  there  also  as  a  hay 
grass,  particularly  for  the  first  two  years  after  seeding,  for  it 
produces  an  abundance  of  hay  until  it  becomes  sodbound.  It 
then  makes  a  good  growth  of  root  leaves,  so  that  it  is  valuable 
for  pasture,  but  throws  up  few  flowering  stems.  Farther 
east,  it  is  perhaps  better  as  a  pasture  than  as  a  hay  grass. 
It  is  particularly^  recommended  in  the  Central  states  for 
planting  with  alfalfa  for  pasture.  It  is  one  of  the  most  pal- 
atable of  grasses,  cattle  eating  it  in  preference  to  blue  grass. 
II  is  also  of  value  in  improving  worn-out  lands,  as  it  produces 
a  large  quantity  of  stems  and  roots  and  adds  materially  to 
the  vegetable  matter  in  the  soil.  The  principal  difficulty 
in  sowing  brome  grass  is  that  it  is  not  often  possible  to  obtain 
seed  which  is  free  from  quack  grass. 

MISCELLANEOUS  GRASSES 

409.  The  Wheat  Grasses.  The  wheat  grasses  are  of 
considerable  value  as  pasture  grasses  throughout  the  northern 
Great  Plains  and  the  Pacific  Northwest.  Slender  wheat 
grass,  Agropyron  tenerum,  is  grown  to  some  extent  as  a  hay 
grass  in  Washington  and  Oregon.  It  is  particularly  adapted 
to  dry-land  farming.  Another  native  grass  of  this  region, 
Agropyron  diver  gens,  or  bunch  grass,  is  also  w^orthj^  of  culti- 
vation on  the  dry  lands.  Farther  east,  in  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tain region,  western  wheat  grass,  Agropyron  occidentale,  is 
grow^n  to  some  extent  for  hay  production.  Quack  grass, 
Agropyron  repens,  is  sometimes  recommended  for  hay  or 
pasture,  but  its  numerous  running  rootstocks  make  it  so 
difficult  to  eradicate  that  it  should  not  be  sown  where  any 


THE  FESCUES 


31g 


other  grass  will  grow.  None  of  the  other  wheat  grasses  have 
this  characteristic,  and  they  may  be  sown  without  fear  that 
they  will  become  pests. 

410.  The  Fescues.  Meadow  fescue,  Festuca  pratensis, 
and  tall  fescue,  Festuca  pratensis  elatior,  are  grown  in  cer- 
tain limited  areas  as  hay  grasses.  In  the  timothy  region, 
they  cannot  compete  with  that  grass,  for  they  do  not  yield 
as  well  and  the  seed  is  more  expensive.  Meadow  fescue  is 
grown  quite  commonly  in  northeastern  Kansas,  while  both 
tall  and  meadow  fescue  are  grown  in  eastern  Washington  and 
northern  Idaho.  These  grasses  are  often  recommended  for 
sowing  in  meadow  and  pasture  mixtures,  but  they  do  not 
seem  to  have  any  definite  place  in  this  country.  In  England 
and  quite  generally  throughout  Europe,  they  are  among  the 
most  valuable  grasses. 

411.  The  Rye  Grasses.  EngUsh  lye  grass,  Lolium 
perenne,  and  its  near  relative,  Italian  lye  grass,  Lolium 
italicum,  are  among  the  most  popular  and  important  grasses 
in  Europe,  but  they  have  never  come  into  favor  in  the  United 
States.  They  are  grown  to  some  extent  on  the  Pacific 
Coast,  but  elsewhere  they  are  Httle  known.  They  do  not 
yield  heavily,  but  the  herbage  they  produce  is  so  palatable  and 
nutritious  that  they  appear  to  be  worthy  of  more  extended 
trial  as  meadow    grasses  where  the  rainfall  is  abundant. 


Table  XVI I.     Composition  of  important  grasses. 

DRY 

GREEN 

Digestible  Nutrients  in  100 
pounds 

Digestible  Nutrients  in  100 
pounds 

Crude 
protein 

Carbo- 
hydrates 

Fat 

Crude 
protein 

Carbo- 
hydrates 

Fat 

Timothy 

Pounds 

.30 
4.7 
4.6 
3.7 
2.9 
5.0 

Pounds 

42.8 
43.5 
45.9 
37.9 
45.0 
44.2 

Pounds 

1.2 
1.5 
1.2 
0.8 
1.0 
0.9 

Pounds 

1.5 
2.3 
1.9 
1.4 
1.2 
2.9 

Pounds 
19.3 
14.8 
20.0 
17.0 
14.7 
15.0 

Pounds 

0.6 

Kentucky  blue  grass 
Redtop 

0.6 
0.6 

Bermuda  grass 

Johnson  grass 

Brome  grass 

0.5 
0.5 
0.2 

314  FIELD  CHOPS 

LABOHATORY  AND  FIELD  EXERCISES 

As  many  of  the  important  perennial  grasses  as  possible  should  be 
studied  in  the  field  or  in  the  laboratory.  If  studied  in  the  field,  their 
characteristics  should  be  carefully  noted,  particularly  those  that  make 
them  of  importance  agriculturally.  Among  these  may  be  mentioned 
habits  of  growth,  leafiness,  seed  habits,  and  turf-forming  habits.  De- 
scriptions of  the  roots,  stems,  leaves,  inflorescence,  and  seeds  of  the 
important  grasses  of  the  neighborhood  should  be  prepared.  If  fresh 
specimens  are  not  available,  each  student  should  be  provided  with  a 
dried  plant  which  has  previously  been  prepared  by  the  instructor. 

REFERENCES 

Grasses  of  North  America,  Beal. 
Forage  and  Fiber  Crops  in  America,  Hunt. 
Grasses  and  How  to  Grow  Them,  Shaw. 
Farm  Grasses  of  the  United  States,  Spillman. 
Meadows  and  Pastures,  Wing. 
Field  Crop  Production,  Livingston. 
Productive  Farm  Crops,  Montgomery. 
Forage  Plants  and  Their  Culture,  Piper. 
Farmers'  Bulletins: 

677.  Growing  Hay  in  the  South  for  Market. 

814.  Bermuda  Grass. 


CHAPTER  XVI 
ANNUAL  FORAGE  GRASSES 

412.  Introduction.  Several  annual  grasses  are  quite  gen- 
erally grown  as  forage  crops,  while  in  some  sections  large 
acreages  of  the  cereals  are  cut  for  hay.  In  addition,  a  large 
part  of  the  straw  and  stover  which  is  a  by-product  of  grain 
growing  is  fed  to  stock.  The  principal  annual  plants  of  the 
grass  family  which  are  grown  for  forage  are  the  millets,  the 
sorghums,  corn,  oats,  wheat,  and  barley.  The  Census  figures 
for  1909  show  that  millet  was  grown  on  1,113,000  acres  in 
the  United  States,  with  a  production  of  1,540,000  tons  of 
hay;  that  grains  cut  green  for  hay  were  grown  on  4,254,000 
acres,  producing  5,278,000  tons;  and  that  coarse  forage  was 
grown  on  4,093,000  acres,  with  a  total  production  of  10,073,- 
000  tons.  The  ''grams  cut  green  for  hay"  include  not  only 
the  cereals  but  also  the  annual  leguminous  crops  such 
as  cowpeas  and  soy  beans.  The  coarse  forage  includes  corn 
and  the  sorghums  grown  specially  for  forage. 

THE  SORGHUMS 

413.  Origin  and  Description.  Sorghum,  Andropogon 
sorghum,  is  a  native  of  Africa  and  southern  Asia.  The 
forage  sorghums  are  closely  related  to  the  grain  sorghums 
(Section  306)  and  to  broomcorn  (Section  312),  for  all  these 
plants  have  been  developed  from  the  same  parent  stock. 
They  differ  from  the  other  members  of  this  group  in  having 
abundant  sweet  juice,  while  the  pith  of  the  grain  sorghums 
and  of  broomcorn  is  dry  or  only  slightly  juicy.  The  plant 
grows  from  5  to  10  or  more  feet  tall,  with  numerous  broad 
leaves.  The  flowers  are  borne  in  a  terminal  panicle,  varying 
in  size  and  form  with  the  variety.     The  seeds  are  red  or 

315 


316 


FIELD  CROPS 


reddish  yellow  in  color,  protruding  somewhat  from  between 
the  dark  red  or  black  glumes. 

414.  Varieties.     The  principal  variety  of  sorghum  grown 
in  the  North  is  Amber,  an  early  maturing,  comparatively 


Figure  108. — Sorghum  grown  in  rows  for  forage. 

small  sort  with  an  open,  spreading  panicle,  shining  black 
glumes,  and  reddish-yellow  seeds.  The  seeds  are  almost 
entirely  included  within  the  glumes,  so  that  the  apparent  color 
of  the  head  is  black.  The  Orange,  a  somewhat  later  varietj^ 
with  lighter-colored  glumes  and  a  more  compact  panicle,  is 
less  grown  now  than  formerly.  In  the  South,  the  most 
popular  and  productive  variety  is  Sumac  or  Redtop,  with  a 
compact  head,  red  seeds,  and  very  short  dark  red  or  black 
glumes.  The  red  seeds  protrude  from  between  the  glumes, 
so  that  the  head  appears  to  be  dark  red  in  color.  Gooseneck, 
a  variety  with  large  hen < Is  borne  on  a  rocun^ed  peduncle,  so 


IMPORTANCE  OF  SORGHUM 


817 


that  the  head  is  drooping  instead  of  erect,  has  been  widely 
recommended  for  sirup  production  in  the  South.  It  is  late 
in  maturing  and  is  inferior  to  Sumac  for  the  production  of 
forage. 

415.  Importance.  The  sweet 
sorghums  are  grown  quite  gener- 
alh^  for  forage  in  the  South  and 
Southwest  and  to  a  less  extent  in 
other  portions  of  the  country. 
In  the  Central  states,  corn  is  the 
principal  coarse  forage  crop,  and 
sorghum  occupies  a  minor  place, 
though  it  is  grown  in  a  limited 
way.  No  accurate  figures  on  the 
total  acreage  devoted  to  the  pro- 
duction of  sorghum  for  forage  are 
obtainable,  but  in  Kansas,  where 
the  crop  is  perhaps  more  impor- 
tant than  in  any  other  state,  500,- 
000  acres  are  grown  annually.  It 
is  quite  probable  that  not  less 
than  two  million  acres  of  sor- 
ghum are  grown  in  the  United 
States  every  year. 

416.  Culture.  The  methods 
of  growing  sorghum  for  forage 
are  Uke  the  methods  of  growing  corn  for  fodder  or  for 
silage,  except  that  the  sorghums  are  always  planted  in  drills 
rather  than  in  hills.  The  crop  grows  well  on  a  wide  range 
of  soils,  though  it  does  best  on  those  of  more  than  average 
fertility.  The  plant  has  a  vigorous  root  system,  which  en- 
ables it  to  use  quick-acting  fertilizers  to  good  advantage. 

The  seed  may  be  sown  with  the  corn  planter,  using  spe- 
cial plates,  or  with  the  grain  drill,  using  all  or  only  a  part  of 
the  holes.     ^Tien  grown  in  rows  and  cultivated,  the  crop 


J 


P'igure  109. — The  compact  panicle 
of  Sumac  sorghum,  a  popular 
variety  in  the  South. 


318  FIELD  CROPS 

is  cut  with  the  corn  binder  and  handled  m  every  way  hke 
corn.  When  sown  in  close  rows,  the  plants  make  a  fine 
growth  which  can  be  cured  readily  into  hay.  The  rate  of 
seeding  in  rows  wide  apart  is  from  8  to  20  pounds  to  the  acre; 
when  sown  with  a  grain  drill  and  not  cultivated,  50  or  75 
pounds  of  seed  is  required;  while  for  broadcast  seeding  for 
hay,  as  occasionally  practiced,  75  to  100  pounds  is  neces- 
sary. The  more  common  method  is  to  sow  in  wide  drills 
and  cultivate  like  corn.  The  seed  should  not  be  planted  till 
after  corn  planting  is  finished,  since  it  will  germinate  only 
in  warm  weather.  In  some  sections,  cowpeas  or  soy  beans 
are  planted  with  sorghum  for  hay  or  for  silage,  and  millet 
is  occasionally  sown  with  it  for  hay  production.  The  meth- 
ods of  handling  for  fodder  and  for  silage  are  not  different 
from  those  in  common  use  with  the  corn  crop. 

417.  Uses.  The  principal  use  of  sorghum  is  as  a  coarse 
forage  crop  to  take  the  place  of  corn  in  sections  where  the 
climate  is  too  dry  for  the  successful  production  of  that  crop. 
The  yield  of  forage  produced  by  sorghum  in  the  South,  even 
where  the  rainfall  is  abundant,  is  usually  larger  than  that 
produced  by  corn,  and  the  prevailing  opinion  is  that  it  can 
be  cured  more  readil3\  The  feeding  value  of  sorghum  fodder 
is  not  as  high  as  that  of  corn  fodder  which  is  well-eared,  but 
is  higher  than  that  of  corn  stover,  and  the  sorghum  is 
more  palatable.  In  the  North,  sorghum  is  more  often  used 
as  a  soiling  crop  than  as  a  dry  fodder.  It  is  readily  eaten  by 
all  kinds  of  stock,  and  is  valuable  during  the  late  summer 
and  early  fall  months  for  supplementing  blue  grass  pastures, 
which  are  usually  short  at  that  time. 

Sorghum  is  used  to  some  extent  as  silage,  though  the 
silage  is  not  so  good  as  that  which  is  made  from  well-matured 
com.  It  is,  however,  succulent  and  palatable,  and  when  sup- 
plemented with  good  hay  and  cottonseed  meal  or  some  other 
concentrate,  it  is  an  excellent  feed  for  dairy  cows  and  other 
classes  of  stock  during  the  winter  months.     It  is  also  a 


SUDAN  GRA88 


319 


valuable  annual  pasture  crop,  supplying  an  abundance  of 
feed  for  cattle,  sheep,  and  hogs.  Cattle  should  be  pastured 
on  it  rather  sparingly  at  first,  for  there  is  some  danger  from 
poisoning,  particularly  if  the  growth  has  been  stunted  from 
drought  or  frost. 
There  is  no  danger 
from  feeding  sor- 
ghum fodder,  as  the 
poisonous  principle 
seems  to  disappear 
in  curing.  Another 
use  of  sorghum  is  in 
clearing  the  land  of 
weeds.  For  this  pur- 
pose it  should  be 
sown  in  close  rows. 
As  the  growth  of  the 
crop  is  slow  at  first, 
the  land  should  be 
harrowed  once  or 
twice  in  the  direction 
of  the  rows  about  the 
time  the  sorghum 
comes  up,  in  order  to 
check  the  weeds  and 
give  it  a  chance.  If 
the  land  is  thus  har- 
rowed, the  crop  will 

soon  start  into  rapid  growth  and  make  a  dense  shade  which 
is  effective  in  smothering  out  all  other  plants. 

418.  Sorghmn  Sirup.  When  first  introduced,  sorghum 
was  grown  only  for  the  production  of  sirup  and  great  hopes 
were  entertained  that  it  could  also  be  used  for  the  econom- 
ical production  of  sugar.  It  is  possible  to  make  sugar  of 
f^ood  quality  from  sorghum  juice,  but  the  process  is  too  ex- 


i 

L 

\s^ 

.^^^^m 

^j^"'*^v 

^^^mm 

W^^'^ 

^^m 

% 

1 

^< 

Figure  110. — The  spreading  panicle  of  Amber  sor- 
ghuna,  the  best  early  variety  for  the  North. 


320  FIELD  CROPS 

pensive  to  make  it  commercially  profitable.  The  produc- 
tion of  sorghum  sirup  has  decreased  rapidly  in  recent  years, 
owing  to  the  manufacture  of  glucose  and  other  sirups.  In 
Kansas,  where  500,000  acres  of  forage  sorghum  are  grown 
annually,  only  13,000  acres  are  used  for  sirup  production. 

SUDAN  GRASS 

419.  Sudan  grass  is  an  annual  sorghum  similar  in  ap- 
pearance to  Johnson  grass,  but  which  has  fibrous  roots  instead 
of  thick,  fleshy  perennial  rootstocks.  It  is  an  annual  which 
has  most  of  the  good  qualities  of  Johnson  grass  as  a  producer 
of  large  quantities  of  fine,  nutritious  haj^  without  the  ob- 
jectionable feature  of  being  difficult  to  eradicate  w^hen  it  is  no 
longer  wanted.  It  was  introduced  by  the  Department  of 
Agriculture  from  Sudan  in  1909,  and  immediately  came  into 
popular  favor,  so  that  it  is  now  grown  extensively  in  the 
southern  half  of  the  United  States,  particularly  in  the  drier 
sections. 

420.  Description.  Sudan  grass  when  sown  broadcast  or 
in  drills  for  hay  usually  grows  from  3  to  5  feet  high,  with 
stems  slightly  smaller  than  a  lead  pencil.  When  grown  in  cul- 
tivated rows  the  stems  are  taller  and  larger,  sometimes  reach- 
ing a  height  of  8  to  9  feet.  The  plant  differs  from  Johnson 
grass  principally  in  having  broader  and  more  numerous 
leaves,  thus  making  it  a  better  haj^  plant,  and  in  the  charac- 
ter of  its  roots,  as  previously  mentioned. 

421.  Adaptation.  Sudan  grass  may  be  grown  successfully 
for  hay  almost  anywhere  in  the  southern  and  central  United 
States,  but  most  valuable  in  the  southern  Great  Plains, 
where  its  drought-resistance  and  quick  growth  make  it  an 
excellent  hay  crop.  It  is  also  valuable  for  hay  in  the 
Southern  states  generally,  except  in  Florida  and  the  sandy 
sections  along  the  coa'st,  where  other  grasses  succeed  better. 
In  the  irrigated  sections  of  the  Southwest  and  California  it 
is  second  only  to-  alfalfa  as  a  hay  crop,  while  in  the  central 


THE  FOXTAIL  MILLET  Si  321 

United  States  it  is  an  excellent  substitute  for  millet  as  a 
catch  crop  for  late  seeding. 

422.  Culture.  Sudan  grass  grows  best  in  a  firm  seed  bed. 
It  is  usually  sown  on  spring  plowing  which  has  been  well 
fined  and  packed  by  thorough  harrowing.  Seeding  should 
be  delayed  till  the  soil  is  thoroughly  warm;  for,  like  other 
sorghums,  Sudan  grass  does  not  grow  well  in  cool  weather. 
As  a  general  rule,  sowing  at  or  just  after  corn-planting  time 
will  give  good  results.  In  humid  sections,  the  best  quality 
of  hay  is  produced  from  sowing  15  to  25  pounds  of  hay  to  the 
acre  broadcast  or  with  the  ordinary  grain  drill.  In  the  Great 
Plains,  however,  sowing  2  to  6  pounds  of  seed  in  rows  suf- 
ficiently far  apart  to  allow  cultivation  is  much  safer.  Sowing 
in  rows  is  also  advisable  wherever  seed  production  is  desired. 

423.  Uses.  This  grass  is  most  useful  for  hay  production, 
though  it  may  be  cut  and  fed  green  or  made  into  silage.  The 
best  quality  of  hay  is  produced  if  cut  when  in  full  bloom 
or  just  passing  out  of  bloom,  but  the  yield  from  second  and 
later  crops  will  be  larger  if  the  first  crop  is  cut  before  full 
bloom  is  reached.  In  the  South,  as  many  as  three  or  four 
crops  may  be  cut  in  a  season,  particularly  if  the  rainfall  is 
abundant.  The  hay  cures  readily  and  is  nutritious.  On 
account  of  its  fineness  and  leafiness  it  is  more  palatable  than 
sorghum  hay,  and  has  replaced  sorghum  to  a  considerable  ex- 
tent as  a  hay  crop.  If  cowpeas  or  some  other  legume  is 
sown  with  the  Sudan  grass,  the  yield  and  feeding  value  of 
the  hay  are  increased. 

THE  FOXTAIL  MILLETS 

424.  Origin  and  Description.  The  term  "millet,"  as 
already  noted  (Section  321),  is  applied  to  a  number  of  annual 
grasses,  even  the  sorghums  being  known  by  this  name  in 
some  countries.  In  the  present  discussion  it  is  appUed  par- 
ticularly to  what  is  known  as  foxtail  millet,  Setaria  italica. 
This  plant  has  long  been  cultivated  in  China  and  other  por- 

21— 


FIELD  CROPS 


tions  of  Asia,  wliere  it  is  used  as  food  grain  as  well  as  forage. 
It  is  probable  that  the  original  type  is  a  native  of  southeastern 
Asia,  though  some  botanists  hold  the  opinion  that  all  the 

varieties  have 
been  developed 
from  the  common 
foxtail ,  Setaria  vir- 
idis-,  which  grows 
wild  generally 
throughout  the 
North  Temperate 
zone.  The  foxtail 
millets  are  annual 
plants  with  fi- 
brous roots  and 
slender  stems,  us- 
ually  growing 
from  3  to  4  feet 
high.  The  inflor- 
escence is  a  close 
spike,  from  4  to 
8  inches  long. 
The  spikelets  are 
one-flowered,  with 
bristles  at  the 
base,  which  are 
usually  purplish. 
The  grain  threshes  free  from  the  chaff  and  is  usually  yellow 
or  purple. 

425.  Varieties.  The  principal  varieties  of  foxtail  millet 
are  the  Common,  the  Hungarian,  and  the  German.  Com- 
mon millet  is  the  earliest  of  the  three  in  maturing.  The 
heads  are  rather  loose  at  the  base,  but  more  compact  toward 
the  top,  about  6  inches  long,  nodding,  green  in  color,  turning 
to  yellowish  brown  when  ripe.    The  seeds  are  large,  yellow, 


Figure  111. — German  millet. 


IMPORTANCE  OF  MILLETS  323 

and  oval.  Hungarian  millet  is  later  in  maturing,  with 
shorter,  erect,  compact,  dark  purple  heads.  The  leaves  are 
narrower  and  darker  green  than  those  of  common  millet, 
and  the  plant  produces  rather  less  hay.  The  seeds  are 
purple,  but  there  are  usually  some  yellow,  partially  ma- 
tured grains.  German  millet  does  not  stool  as  freely  as 
the  other  two  varieties,  is  later  in  maturing,  and  the  growth  is 
ranker  and  coarser.  It  yields  well,  but  the  stems  are  stiff 
and  woody  and  the  hay  is  less  palatable  than  that  from  either 
Common  or  Hungarian.  The  heads  are  6  to  8  inches  long, 
broader  than  those  of  Common  millet,  and  usually  nodding. 
The  seeds  are  small  and  round,  and  yellow  or  golden  in  color. 

426.  Importance.  The  millets  are  quick-growing  plants 
which  are  grown  more  generally  as  a  catch  crop  than  for  any 
other  purpose.  They  do  not  grow  well  until  the  hot  weather 
of  summer,  but  if  sown  in  June  or  July  they  will  make  a  hay 
crop  in  six  or  eight  weeks.  They  are  usually  sown  where 
some  earlier-planted  crop  has  failed,  as  where  fall-sown  grain 
has  winterkilled,  or  where  corn  has  not  germinated  or  has 
been  destroyed  by  insects  or  rodents.  As  they  are  decidedly 
drought-resistant,  they  grow  well  in  dry  seasons  or  in  regions 
of  slight  rainfall.  The  area  sown  to  millet  in  the  United 
States,  according  to  the  1910  Census,  was  1,113,000  acres. 

427.  Culture.  Millet  should  not  be  sown  till  the  weather 
is  warm,  not  earlier  than  the  middle  of  June  in  the  Northern 
states,  and  in  May  and  June  in  the  South.  Millet  grows  well 
on  a  variety  of  soils,  but  succeeds  better  on  sandy  loam  than 
on  heavy  clays.  As  the  seed  is  small,  the  ground  should  be 
well  prepared.  The  plant  has  abundant  feeding  roots  and 
will  grow  fairly  well  on  poor  soil.  Like  other  forage  crops, 
however,  it  makes  a  much  more  abundant  growth  on  fertile 
land  and  responds  readily  to  applications  of  manures  and 
fertilizers.  The  seed  is  usually  sown  broadcast  and  har- 
rowed in,  though  it  may  be  sown  with  the  grain  drill.  The 
rate  of  seeding  for  grain  production  is  from  1  to  13/2  pocks  to 


324  FIELD  CR0P8 

the  acre;  for  hay,  from  2  to  4  pecks  are  sown.     The  seed 
weighs  50  pounds  to  the  bushel. 

The  crop  is  ready  to  cut  for  hay  in  from  six  to  ten  weeks 
from  seeding,  depending  on  the  variety,  the  season,  and  the 
fertihty  of  the  soil.  The  best  hay  can  be  obtained  if  the  crop 
is  cut  about  the  time  the  plants  begin  to  bloom.  If  the  seed 
is  allowed  to  form,  there  is  some  decrease  in  palatability, 
and  the  hay  may  be  actually  injurious  to  horses.  The  hay 
is  slower  in  curing  than  timothy  hay,  for  the  growth  is  usually 
rank  and  full  of  moisture.  When  grown  for  seed  production, 
the  crop  should  be  cut  before  it  is  fully  ripe  or  there  will  be 
some  loss  from  shattering.  It  may  be  harvested  with  the 
grain  binder  and  shocked  and  threshed  like  other  grain. 
Twenty  bushels  of  seed  to  the  acre  is  a  fair  yield. 

428.  Uses.  The  foxtail  millets  are  largely  grown  as 
emergency  forage  crops  to  supplement  the  usual  hay  and 
pasture  supply.  The  hay  is  useful  for  feeding  to  all  kinds  of 
animals  and  is  as  palatable  and  nutritious  as  that  made  from 
most  of  the  other  grasses.  Best  results  may  be  obtained 
when  it  does  not  make  up  the  entire  forage  ration  of  the 
animals,  but  is  fed  with  clover,  alfalfa,  or  other  hay.  It 
should  be  fed  with  caution  to  horses;  for,  if  fed  in  quantity, 
it  is  hkely  to  cause  serious  disorders  of  the  kidneys.  Fox- 
tail millet  is  also  useful  for  soiling  and  pasture  purposes, 
'being  available  within  a  few  weeks  from  seeding.  The  seed 
is  not  generally  used  for  feeding  except  to  poultry,  though, 
where  it  is  produced  in  quantity,  good  results  have  been 
obtained  from  feeding  it  to  hogs,  cattle,  and  sheep.  It  is  bet- 
ter to  grind  the  seed  before  feeding  to  hogs  and  cattle. 

OTHER  MILLETS 

429.  Broomcom  Millet.  This  class  of  millet  is  usually 
grown  for  the  grain  rather  than  for  forage,  as  the  stems 
are  stiff  and  hairy  and  the  hay  is  not  eaten  readily  by  stock. 
They  have  already  been  discussed   (Section  322). 


SMALL  SORGHUM  GRAINS 


325 


430.  Barnyard  Millet.  Barnyard  millet,  Echinochloa 
crus'galli,  is  the  common  barnyard  grass,  which  is  occasion- 
ally sown  for  forage.  It  is  a  weed  everywhere  in  damp,  rich 
soils.  A  variety  of  it  from  Japan  has  been  widely  advertised 
by  certain  seedsmen  as  a  very  prolific  forage  crop,  under 
the  name  of  ''billion  dollar  grass." 
It  grows  best  on  wet  lands,  and  on 
rich  soil  makes  a  heavy  growth  of  hay 
or  green  fodder.  The  stems  are  rather 
coarse  and  the  crop  is  slower  in  ma- 
turing than  the  foxtail  millets,  which 
are  generally  preferred. 

431.  Pearl  Millet.  Pearl,  or  cat- 
tail, millet,  Pennisetum  spicatum,  is 
a  coarse  annual  grass  which  is  grown 
mostly  as  a  soiling  crop  in  a  very 
limited  way  on  rich  land  in  the  South. 
It  grows  from  6  to  10  feet  high,  pro- 
ducing a  long,  compact  spike  similar 
in  appearance  to  the  common  cat-tail 
of  the  swamps,  hence  one  of  the  com- 
mon names.  It  suckers  freely,  and 
will  produce  two  or  three  crops  in  a 

season  if  cut  for  soiling  before  it  produces  heads.  The  young 
growth  is  readily  eaten  by  stock,  but  it  soon  becomes  woody 
and  is  of  little  value  for  forage.  It  has  never  become 
popular,  and  has  no  advantages  over  sorghum  as  a  soiling 
and  fodder  crop.     It  is  not  adapted  to  the  North. 


Figure  112. — Barnyard  grass, 
or  cocksfoot. 


THE  SMALL  GRAINS 

432.  According  to  the  Census  of  1910,  there  were  4,254,- 
000  acres  of  grains  cut  green  for  hay,  with  a  production  of 
5,278,000  tons.  This  total  is  largely  made  up  of  the  cereals, 
though  it  also  includes  some  of  the  annual  legumes,  such  as 
cowpeas  and  soy  beans.     About  one  half  of  this  area  is  in 


326  FIELD  CROPS 

the  Pacific  states,  where  wheat  and  barley  are  the  principal 
annual  hay  crops.  Most  of  the  rest  is  in  the  North,  where 
oats  or  a  mixture  of  peas  and  oats  are  grown  for  hay. 

433.  Com.  A  large  part  of  the  corn  crop,  particularly 
in  the  Northern  states,  is  used  for  silage,  soiling,  fodder,  or 
stover.  The  production  and  uses  of  corn  have  been  dis- 
cussed. 

434.  Teosinte.  It  is  a  near  relative  of  corn,  but  adapted 
only  to  semitropical  conditions.  In  the  South  it  will  pro- 
duce a  greater  yield  of  green  fodder  than  any  other  plant. 
It  will  grow  to  a  height  of  8  or  10  feet,  but  should  be  cut 
when  it  is  about  5  feet  high.  It  will  then  make  a  second  crop 
as  heavy  as  the  first.  The  seed  should  be  planted  in  hills  4 
or  5  feet  apart  each  way,  and  the  crop  cultivated  like  corn. 
As  it  stools  abundantly,  1  to  3  pounds  of  seed  will  plant  an  acre. 

LABORATORY  AND  FIELD  EXERCISES 

1.  Collect  and  mount  specimens  of  all  crops  discussed  in  this 
chapter.  Every  student  of  agriculture  should  be  able  to  identify 
either  by  the  seed  or  by  complete  plants  all  the  common  varieties  of 
the  sorghums  and  millets. 

2.  Make  a  careful  study  of  the  results  secured  in  the  community 
with  sorghums  and  millets  as  forage  crops  and  as  seed  crops.  From 
the  experiences  in  the  community  what  would  be  a  practical  recom- 
mendation concerning  the  value  of  the  growth  of  these  crops? 

REFERENCES 

Cyclopedia  of  American  Agriculture,  Bailey. 
Farm  Crops,  Burkett. 
Cereals  in  America,  Hunt. 
Forage  Crops,  Voorhees. 
Farm  Grasses  of  the  United  States,  Spillman. 
Field  Crop  Production,  Livingston. 
Productive  Farm  Crops,  Montgomery. 
Forage  Crops  and  Their  Culture,  Piper. 
Farmers'  Bulletins: 

509.  Forage  Crops  for  the  Cotton  Region. 

605.  Sudan  Grass. 

793.  Foxtail  Millet. 


CHAPTER  XVII 
THE  LEGUMES 

435.  What  Legumes  Are.  The  term  ''legume'^  was 
formerly  apphed  to  any  plant  belonging  to  the  order  Legumi- 
noseae,  the  word  being  the  Latin  name  for  the  kind  of  seed 
pod  which  is  borne  by  practically  all  plants  of  this  group. 
A  legume  in  the  original  sense  is  a  dry  pod  which  opens  along 
both  edges,  or  sutures,  as  the  pod  of  the  pea  or  bean,  but  the 
term  is  now  applied  to  any  plant  which  belongs  to  this  order. 
Modern  botanists  have  divided  the  Leguminoseae  into  sev- 
eral families,  the  largest  and  most  important  of  which  is  the 
Papilionaceae,  in  which  are  included  practically  all  the  cul- 
tivated legumes.  This  latter  name  is  derived  from  the  Latin 
word  papilio,  a  butterfly,  from  the  resemblance  of  the  flower 
to  that  insect.  Among  the  useful  plants  of  this  family  are 
the  clovers,  aKalfa,  the  vetches,  peas,  beans,  soy  beans, 
cowpeas,  and  numerous  other  plants  of  less  importance. 

436.  General  Characters.  The  legumes  are  decidedly 
variable,  yet  they  have  many  features  in  common.  The 
leaves  are  alternate  and  are  usually  compound.  The  flowers 
are  irregular  as  to  size  and  shape  of  the  petals,  but  are  usu- 
ally more  or  less  butterfly-shaped.  There  are  commonly 
five  petals,  a  broad  upper  one  known  as  the  standard  or 
banner,  two  lateral  ones  (the  wings),  and  two  front  ones, 
often  more  or  less  united  (the  keel).  The  stamens  are  usu- 
ally ten  in  number,  often  united,  or  nine  in  one  group  and 
one  alone.  The  pistil  is  single  and  the  ovary  is  one-celled, 
but  may  contain  a  number  of  seeds.  The  fruit  is  a  legume, 
which  splits  open  along  both  edges  when  mature.  The  seed 
is  almost  entirely  filled  with  the  cotyledons,  or  seed  leaves, 
and  on  germination  the  entire  seed  often  appears  above 

327 


328  FIELD  CROPS 

ground,  as  in  the  case  of  the  bean,  the  seed  sphtting  in  half 
and  forming  the  two  cotyledons  of  the  young  plant. 

437.  Differences.  While  the  legumes  have  many  points 
in  common,  there  are  numerous  other  respects  in  which  they 
xliffer.  They  may  be  small  herbs,  shrubs,  vines,  or  trees. 
They  may  be  annual,  biennial,  or  perennial.  The  herbaceous 
plants  may  be  erect,  as  alfalfa;  prostrate,  as  white  clover; 
trailing  or  climl^ing,  as  the  vetches  and  some  forms  of  the 
cowpea.  The  leaves  may  be  made  up  of  three  or  many 
leaflets;  they  may  be  palmate,  all  the  leaflets  growing  from  a 
single  point,  as  in  the  clovers;  or  they  may  be  pinnate,  the 
leaflets  being  arranged  along  the  midrib,  as  in  alfalfa  and  the 
vetches.  The  flowers  may  be  of  many  sizes,  forms,  and 
colors,  and  may  be  arranged  in  numerous  forms.  They  may 
be  in  a  close  umbel,  or  head,  as  in  the  clovers,  or  in  a  spike  or 
raceme,  as  in  alfalfa  and  sweet  clover.  The  seed  pods  may 
be  long  and  straight,  as  in  the  pea;  more  or  less  curved,  as 
in  the  bean;  coiled,  as  in  alfalfa;  or  of  various  other  shapes 
and  sizes.  Though  the  roots  are  all  of  the  same  general  form, 
consisting  of  a  main  taproot  with  many  branches,  they  vary 
greatly  in  the  depth  to  which  they  penetrate  the  soil.  Some 
annual  species,  hke  the  pea  and  the  bean,  root  only  2  or  3 
feet  under  ordinary  conditions,  while  the  perennial  species 
reach  a  great  depth,  particularly  alfalfa,  which  under  favor- 
able conditions  may  go  down  from  20  to  40  feet. 

438.  Why  the  Legumes  Are  Important.  The  legumes 
are  important  in  our  system  of  farming  for  several  reasons. 
They  supply  palatable  forage  which  is  especially  rich  in  pro- 
tein, much  richer  than  any  of  the  grasses.  They  also  furnish 
seeds  which  are  important  articles  of  food  for  man  and  for 
animals,  as  peas,  beans,  soy  beans,  and  cowpeas.  They  add 
variety  to  the  rotation ;  and,  as  they  are  seldom  attacked  by 
the  same  insects  and  diseases  which  trouble  that  other  im- 
portant family  of  crop  plants,  the  grasses,  they  furnish  an 
excellent  means  of  combating  these  pests  by  means  of  a  rota- 


LEGUMES 


329 


tion  of  crops  (Section  654).     On  account  of  the  deep-rooting 
habit  of  many  of  the  plants  of  this  family,  they  improve  the 
physical  condition  of  the  soil,  penetrating  the  lower  layers 
and  leaving  chan- 
nels  to  carry   off 
surplus  water  and 
admit  air  when 
the   roots    decay. 
They   add   some 
ayailable  plant 
food  to  the  upper 
layers  of  the  soil 
by  bringing  it  up 
from  below.  They 
materially    in- 
crease the  fertility 
and  improve  the 
physical  condition 
of  the  soil  by  add- 
ing a  large  supply 
of  organic  matter. 
Lastly,    they   are 
very  important  in 
the    rotation,  be- 
cause  they   have 
power,   through 
the   medium   of 
bacteria   which 
live  on  their  roots, 
to    take  nitrogen 
from  the  air  and 
leave  it  in  the  soil  available  for  the  use  of  other  plants. 
439.  How  the  Legumes  Gather  Nitrogen.     Bacteria  and 
other  forms  of  minute  life  often  live  on  our  useful  plants  as 
parasites  and  do  considerable  injury,  as  in  the  case  of  the 


Figure  113. — Young  plant  of  red  clover,  showing  tuber- 
cles on  the  roots. 


330  FIELD  CROPS 

grain  smut?  and  rusts,  fruit  rots,  and  other  fungous  diseases. 
In  the  case  of  the  nitrifying  bacteria,  however,  the  relation 
toward  the  host  plant  is  a  helpful  rather  than  a  harmful  one. 
If  a  healthy  clover  or  pea  or  bean  plant  is  dug  up  very  care- 
fully and  the  earth  washed  away  from  the  roots,  many  little 
knots  or  bunches  will  be  found  on  them.  These  knots,  or 
tubercles,  which  vary  greatly  in  shape  and  size  according  to 
the  plant  on  which  they  grow,  are  filled  with  thousands  of 
bacteria,  too  small  to  be  seen  without  a  very  powerful  micro- 
scope."^ These  bacteria  take  the  nitrogen  from  the  air  and 
change  it  into  a  form  which  can  be  used  by  the  plants. 
Nitrogen  is  the  most  expensive  fertilizer  to  purchase;  and, 
as  the  legumes  add  it  to  the  soil  and  at  the  same  time  yield 
a  valuable  crop  of  hay  or  seed,  we  can  see  their  importance. 

440.  Conditions  Necessary  for  Nitrifying  Bacteria.  Air 
is  one  of  the  essentials  for  the  growth  of  nitrifying  bacteria. 
Unless  the  soil  is  in  good  condition  to  admit  a  plentiful  supply 
of  air,  these  bacteria  are  unable  to  do  their  work.  Tillage 
is  beneficial  to  them,  as  it  stirs  the  soil,  loosens  it,  and  admits 
air.  Drainage  is  also  helpful,  for  a  soil  which  is  full  of  water 
cannot  admit  the  necessary  air.  Few  leguminous  plants 
grow  well  on  low,  wet,  sour  land,  though  alsike  clover  thrives 
in  such  situations.  Sour,  or  acid,  soils  are  not  suitable  for 
the  growth  of  these  bacteria.  This  condition  can  be  remedied 
by  the  addition  of  lime.  The  acidity  of  the  soil  can  easily 
be  tested  in  a  general  way  by  applying  a  little  of  the  moist 
soil  to  litmus  paper.  If  the  soil  turns  blue  litmus  paper  red, 
it  is  acid  and  needs  lime.  The  application  of  half  a  ton  or 
a  ton  of  lime  to  the  acre,  or  double  that  quantity  of  ground 
limestone,  will  generally  correct  this  acidity. 

441.  Inoculation.  Though  the  forms  of  nitrifying  bac- 
teria on  the  roots  of  our  various  legumes  are  very  similar, 
they  usually  can  not  be  transferred  from  one  kind  of  plant 

lA  number  of  illustrations  of  typical  forms  of  tubercles  on  leguminous  and 
other  plants  will  be  found  in  the  Yearbook  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture  for 
1910,     pp.     213.218. 


INOCULATION  331 

to  another.  For  this  reason,  it  is  sometimes  necessary  in 
introducing  a  new  legume  into  a  community  to  supply  it  with 
the  proper  bacteria  by  means  of  inoculation.  As  the  bacteria 
are  very  small  and  increase  rapidly  under  favorable  condi- 
tions, a  small  quantity  of  them  will  inoculate  a  considerable 
area.  One  of  the  best  methods  of  inoculation  is  to  take 
a  quantity  of  soil  from  a  field  on  which  the  crop  in  question 
has  been  growing  and  scatter  it  on  the  field  to  which  it  is  to 
be  introduced.  This  operation  is  sometimes  expensive, 
particularly  if  the  soil  has  to  be  shipped  some  distance,  as 
the  transportation  charges  will  then  be  heavy.  Five  to 
eight  hundred  pounds  of  inoculated  soil  should  be  applied  to 
each  acre  of  the  new  field  if  the  inoculated  soil  can  be  obtained 
close  at  hand.  If  it  must  be  shipped  from  a  distance,  from 
200  to  300  pounds  may  be  made  to  suffice,  thus  reducing  the 
expense  '  of  transportation.  This  inoculated  soil  may  be 
mixed  with  several  hundred  pounds  of  ordinary  soil  before 
it  is  applied,  as  the  larger  quantity  can  be  spread  more  easily 
and  evenly.  It  is  often  better  to  start  a  small  plat  and 
then  use  soil  from  it  to  inoculate  larger  fields. 

Where  the  distance  from  an  old  field  makes  inoculation 
by  soil  transfer  too  expensive,  what  is  known  as  the  ''pure 
culture"  method  of  inoculation  may  be  used,  though  it  is 
less  generally  successful  than  the  other  methods.  The 
bacteria  are  grown  artificially  in  culture  media,  and  shipped 
either  in  the  dry  form  similar  to  cakes  of  yeast,  or  in  tubes 
containing  the  liquid  solution.  Before  using  the  powder 
or  liquid  it  is  put  into  a  vessel  containing  water,  a  little 
sugar,  and  other  suitable  material  for  the  growth  of  the 
bacteria.  In  a  few  days  the  water  takes  on  a  milky  hue  from 
the  large  increase  in  numbers  of  the  bacteria,  and  it  is  then 
sprinkled  on  the  seed  or  is  mixed  with  soil  and  spread  on  the 
field.  It  is  much  easier  to  inoculate  the  seed,  which  should 
then  be  sown  within  a  few  days.  As  the  desired  bacteria 
are  present  in  small  numbers  in  most  soils  and  are  usually 


332  FIELD  CROPS 

present  on  the  seed,  complete  inoculation  is  often  obtained 
by  gradually  increasing  their  number.  This  is  best  done 
by  mixing  a  small  quantity  of  the  seed  of  the  legume  desired 
along  with  the  grass  seed.  In  a  few  years  the  bacteria  will 
have  increased  sufficiently  to  insure  the  success  of  a  straight 
legume  seeding.  Special  inoculation  is  not  often  necessary 
except  for  alfalfa,  and  is  not  always  essential  for  the  success 
of  that  crop.  A  liberal  application  of  barnyard  manure, 
particularly  that  from  stock  fed  alfalfa  hay,  is  very  helpful 
and  often  meets  all  requirements. 

LABORATORY  AND  FIELD  EXERCISES 

Dig  up  any  of  the  common  legumes  carefully  when  they  are  grow- 
ing rapidly  during  the  late  spring  or  early  summer,  and  examine  the 
nodules  on  their  roots.  These  nodules  are  of  quite  different  shapes 
and  sizes  on  different  plants.  If  they  can  be  examined  under  a  high- 
power  microscope,  they  will  prove  still  more  interesting.  It  may  be 
possible  to  find  fields  of  alfalfa  or  some  other  legume  where  the  nodules 
are  not  present  and  others  where  they  are.  Note  the  difference  in 
growth.  The  instructor  may  provide  an  illustration  of  this  kind  by 
planting  seeds  of  red  clover  or  some  other  legume  common  in  the 
neighborhood  in  ordinary  soil  in  one  pot,  and  seed  which  has  been  care- 
fully washed  to  free  it  from  nitrifying  bacteria  in  soil  that  has  been 
baked  long  enough  to  sterilize  it  in  another  pot.  This  should  be  done 
long  enough  before  this  lesson  is  reached  to  allow  the  plants  several 
weeks'  growth  or,  if  there  is  sufficient  time  between  this  lesson  and  the 
close  of  the  school  year  for  the  plants  to  make  the  necessary  growth, 
the  pupils  may  do  the  planting  and  watch  results. 

REFERENCES 

Cyclopedia  of  American  Agriculture,  Vol.  II,  Bailey. 

Agricultural  Bacteriology,  Conn. 

Feeding  of  Crops  and  Stock,  Hall. 

Forage  and  Fiber  Crops  in  America,  Hunt. 

Field  Crop  Production,  Livingston. 

Productive  Farm  Crops,  Montgomery. 

Clovers  and  How  to  Grow  Them,  Shaw. 

First  Principles  of  Soil  Fertility,  Vivian. 

Meadows  and  Pastures,  Wing. 


CHAPTER  XVIII 
THE  CLOVERS 

442.  Introduction.  The  term  ''clover"  is  applied  to 
a  large  number  of  leguminous  forage  crops,  but  only  those 
which  belong  to  the  genus  Trifolium  are  discussed  in  this 
chapter.  The  Trifolia  are  leafy  herbs  which  grow  from 
a  few  inches  to  three  feet  high,  with  flowers  in  dense  heads 
or  spikes.  The  leaves  consist  of  three  palmately-arranged 
leaflets,  the  number  of  leaflets  being  indicated  by  the  botan- 
ical name  of  the  genus.  This  genus  includes  many  species, 
the  most  important  of  which  are  red  clover,  white  clover, 
alsike  clover,  and  crimson  clover.  Closely  related  plants  to 
which  the  common  name  is  ordinarily  applied,  but  which  are 
not  true  clovers,  such  as  sweet,  bur,  and  Japan  clover,  are 
discussed  elsewhere   (Sections  513-519). 

RED  CLOVER 

443.  Origm  and  Description.  Red  clover  is  a  native  of 
Europe  and  western  Asia,  and  has  been  cultivated  only  about 
three  or  four  hundred  years.  It  was  first  domesticated  in 
western  Europe,  and  was  introduced  into  England  about 
1630.  It  has  been  cultivated  in  the  United  States 
for  many  years,  and  is  now  the  most  important  leguminous 
crop  in  the  Northeastern  and  North  Central  states. 

The  botanical  name  of  red  clover  is  Trifolium  pratense. 
It  is  distinguished  from  other  species  of  Trifolium  by  its  red 
flowers  and  oval  or  globose  heads.  Mammoth  clover,  some- 
times classified  as  Trifolium  perenne,  is  very  similar  to  it, 
and  is  usually  regarded  simply  as  a  large  variety  of  red  clover. 
It  differs  from  the  ordinary  type  only  in  that  it  makes  a 
ranker  growth  and  matures  somewhat  later.     Red  clover  is 

333 


334 


FIELD  CR0P8 


Figure  114. — Heads  of  red  clover  at  different  staged. 


IMPORTANCE  OF  CLOVERS  335 

claimed  by  some  botanists  to  be  a  perennial,  but  ordinarily 
it  is  a  biennial,  as  it  seldom  lives  more  than  two  years  on 
account  of  numerous  insects  and  diseases  which  attack  it. 

Numerous  leafy  stems  are  produced  from  a  crown. 
These  reach  a  height  of  from  1  foot  to  2  feet,  depending  on  the 
rainfall  and  the  soil.  Usually  the  taller  plants  do  not  stand 
erect,  so  that  the  crop  seldom  appears  to  be  more  than  18 
inches  high.  The  leaflets  usually  have  a  pale  spot  in  the 
center.  The  flowers  are  borne  in  dense  heads,  which  often 
contain  one  hundred  or  more  individual  flowers.  They  are 
similar  in  shape  to  pea  flowers,  but  much  smaller,  and  have 
a  long  tube.  The  length  of  the  flower  is  about  half  an  inch, 
and  the  width  only  about  one  sixteenth  of  an  inch.  The  pods 
are  small  and  membraneous,  enclosing  the  kidney-shaped 
seeds,  which  are  about  one  twelfth  of  an  inch  long.  The 
seeds  vary  in  color  from  yellow  to  purple. 

444.  Importance  of  the  Crop.  According  to  the  Census 
report,  there  were  21,979,000  acres  devoted  to  the  production 
of  clover  and  mixed  clover  and  timothy  in  the  United  States 
in  1909.  Only  four  of  our  farm  crops  occupied  a  larger  area, 
these  being  corn,  wheat,  oats,  and  cotton.  Of  this  area, 
however,  only  2,443,000  acres  were  in  clover  alone,  the 
remainder  being  used  for  the  production  of  mixed  hay. 
With  the  exception  of  small  areas  in  other  states,  clover  pro- 
duction is  confined  to  the  North  Atlantic  and  North  Central 
states,  the  region  extending  from  Maine  to  Virginia  and 
westward  to  the  eastern  portion  of  the  Dakotas,  Nebraska, 
and  Kansas.  There  are  also  considerable  areas  devoted  to 
clover  in  western  Oregon  and  western  Washmgton.  Alfalfa 
largely  replaces  clover  in  the  Rocky  Mountain  states,  though 
occasionally  large  crops  of  clover  are  grown  in  valleys  where 
alfalfa  does  not  thrive. 

The  principal  states  in  the  production  of  clover  and 
mixed  clover  and  timothy  are  Iowa,  with  three  and  one 
half  million  acres;  New  York  with  three  miUion  acres;  Michi- 


336  FIELD  CROPS 

gan,  Missouri,  Wisconsin  and  Pennsylvania  with  about 
one  and  three  quarters  of  a  milHon  acres  each;  and  IlUnois 
and  Ohio  with  more  than  a  milUon  acres  each. 

In  the  region  north  of  the  Ohio  River  and  east  of  the 
Missouri,  to  the  Atlantic  Ocean,  red  clover  is  more  widely 
grown  than  any  other  legume,  and  is  probably  sown  on  a 
larger  acreage  than  all  other  legumes  combined.  White 
clover  is  very  common  in  pastures  over  this  area,  but  is  not 
generally  sown;  for,  Hke  Kentucky  blue  grass,  it  rapidly 
estabHshes  itself  on  fields  which  lie  undisturbed  for  a  few 
years.  In  the  South,  where  it  does  not  thrive,  red  clover  is 
replaced  by  numerous  annual  legumes  and  to  some  extent 
by  alfalfa,  while  in  the  irrigated  sections  alfalfa  is  much  more 
commonly  grown  on  account  of  the  greater  number  of  crops 
it  produces  in  a  season  and  its  longer  period  of  life. 

445.  The  Best  Soils  for  Red  Clover.  Red  clover  makes 
its  best  growth  on  a  deep,  fertile  loam,  though  the  soil  does 
not  need  to  be  rich  in  nitrogen  on  account  of  the  power  of  this 
plant,  through  the  nitrifying  bacteria,  to  utilize  the  nitrogen 
in  the  air.  Like  other  legumes,  red  clover  will  store  up  little 
nitrogen  on  soils  which  are  already  well-stocked  with  it,  but_ 
the  bacteria  do  much  more  effective  work  on  soils  with  a  low 
nitrogen  content.  Some  nitrogen  is  necessary  to  give  the 
plants  a  start  and  allow  time  for  the  bacteria  to  establish 
themselves,  but  the  supply  need  not  be  large.  A  deep  soil 
is  desirable  for  clover,  as  the  root  system  is  extensive;  the 
roots  will  go  down  5  or  6  feet  if  possible. 

As  clover  draws  rather  heavily  on  the  supply  of  potash 
and  phosphorus,  these  elements  should  be  present  in  fairly 
liberal  quantities.  In  general,  any  soil  which  will  grow  good 
corn  will  grow  clover.  Wet,  undrained  land  is  not  adapted 
to  red  clover.  On  such  soils  alsike  clover  can  be  grown  more, 
successfully.  On  poor  soils  the  application  of  eight  or  ten 
loads  of  barnyard  manure  to  an  acre  will  aid  materially  in 
getting  a  good  stand  and  healthy  growth  of  red  clover. 


PREPARATION  OF  LAND  FOR  CLOVER 


337 


Where  clover  is  sown  in 
previous  fall,   no  special 
Where  it  is  sown  alone  or  at  the 


«/»  % 


446.  Preparation  of  the  Land. 

the  spring  with  grain  sown  the 
preparation  is  possible, 
same  time  as  the  grain, 
special  attention 
should  be  given  to  the 
preparation  of  the  seed 
bed.  The  surface 
should  be  fine,  but  the 
seed  bed  should  be 
firm  rather  than  loose. 
Clover  grows  best  in 
a  sDil  that  is  well  set- 
tled, as  fall-plowed 
land  or  disked  corn  or 
potato  land.  Newly- 
plowed  land  should  be 
disked  or  harrowed 
with  heavy  harrows 
to  pack  the  lower 
layers  before  clover 
seed  is  sown  on  it. 

447.  The  Kind  of 
Seed  to  Use.     Good    ld%W^\     li^u*^v. 
clover  seed  is  plump 
and  of  a  bright  color, 
of    uniform   size    and 
free  from  weed  seeds 
and  other  foreign  mat- 
ter.    Bad   weeds   are 
frequently  brought  to 
the  farm  through  clov- 
er seed.     A  careful  examination  should  be  made  to  determine 
that  no  such  pests  are  present.     Home-grown  seed  is  much 
safer  to  use  than  that  which  is  purchased,  for  it  can  be  kept  free 

22— 


12'^H^o!vif^;^ 


lc\gweed 


14.  Canac^a 
•VWvst\© 


ISW'AA  ^ 


Figure   115. — Seeds  of  red   clover  and   oommon 
adulterants  and  weed  seeds  found  in  it. 


338  FIELD  CROPS 

from  weeds  and  there  is  no  danger  of  introducing  new  and 
troublesome  pests.  New  seed  is  not  so  desirable  as  that 
which  is  a  year  old,  because  new  seed  usually  contains  a  con- 
siderable percentage  of  ''hard  seed"  which  will  not  germinate 
for  some  months  after  planting.  No  seed  should  be  purchased 
until  a  sample  has  been  obtained  and  a  test  of  its  purity  and 
germination  has  been  made.  Too  little  attention  is  commonly 
given  to  the  quaUty  of  grass  and  clover  seed,  and  as  a  con- 
sequence large  quantities  of  inferior  seed  are  sold  every  year. 

448.  Sowing  the  Seed.  The  common  method  of  getting 
a  stand  of  red  clover  is  to  sow  the  seed  in  the  spring  on  land 
that  was  sown  to  winter  wheat  the  previous  fall  or  to  sow  it 
with  spring  wheat,  oats,  or  barley.  When  sown  with  winter 
wheat,  the  seed  is  usually  scattered  on  the  surface  before  the 
frost  is  out  of  the  ground  in  the  spring,  and  the  subsequent 
freezing  and  thawing  and  the  spring  rains  are  depended  on  to 
cover  it  sufficiently.  Some  farmers  delay  sowing  until  April, 
when  the  rains  alone  are  expected  to  cover  the  seed.  A 
more  satisfactory  method  is  to  harrow  the  land  lightly  both 
before  and  after  the  clover  seed  is  sown.  If  the  harrow  is 
run  in  the  same  direction  as  the  drill  rows,  the  wheat  will 
not  be  hijured  but  may  even  be  benefited  if  the  season  is 
dry,  and  the  clover  is  much  more  certain  to  succeed.  If 
the  seed  is  to  be  harrowed  in,  it  should  be  sown  just  as  early 
as  the  land  is  in  condition  to  work  in  the  spring. 

When  sown  with  a  spring  grain  crop,  the  seed  is  usually 
distributed  by  hand  or  with  a  broadcast  seeder  after  the 
grain  is  drilled,  though  it  may  be  sown  with  a  seeder  attach- 
ment to  the  drill.  It  is  not  customary  to  cover  the  clover 
to  so  great  a  depth  as  the  grain,  though  on  loamy  and  sandy 
soils  the  seed  is  sometimes  sown  in  the  drills  with  it.  When 
this  practice  is  followed,  the  drill  must  not  be  permitted  to 
run  more  than  2  inches  deep,  and  shallower  seeding  is 
desirable.  The  usual  quantity  of  clover  seed  sown  is  from  8 
to  12  pounds  to  the  acre,  when  it  is  the  only  crop  seeded. 


CLOVER  WITHOUT  A  NURSE  CROP  339 

When  sown  with  timothy,  about  8  to  10  pounds  of  the  seed 
of  that  grass  is  sown  with  about  8  pounds  of  clover,  the 
amounts  of  each  approaching  an  equahty. 

Winter  wheat  is  one  of  the  best  nurse  crops  for  clover, 
as  it  makes  comparatively  little  shade,  is  removed  from  the 
land  early,  and  does  not  draw  heavily  on  the  moisture  sup- 
ply. Winter  rye  is  also  good,  and  winter  barley  is  hardy 
enough  to  be  used  for  this  purpose  along  the  southern  edge 
of  the  clover  belt.  Next  to  the  winter  grains,  spring  wheat 
and  spring  barley  are  desirable  as  nurse  crops.  Oats  draw 
heavily  on  the  soil  moisture  and  make  a  dense  shade,  hence 
they  are  less  desirable  for  this  purpose,  though  they  are 
very  commonly  used.  In  some  sections  the  practice  of  sow- 
ing clover  in  corn  at  the  last  cultivation  is  increasing  (Figure 
117).  Where  there  is  plenty  of  moisture,  this  method  usu- 
ally gives  a  good  stand,  but  in  dry  seasons  it  is  quite  likely 
to  fail.  It  is  objectionable  for  the  establishment  of  meadows, 
as  the  cornstalks  or  stubble  will  cause  trouble  the  first  season 
in  making  hay.  Millet,  buckwheat,  and  crops  which  make 
a  rank  growth  should  never  be  used   as  nurse  crops. 

449.  Sowing  without  a  Nurse  Crop.  In  sections  where 
the  winters  are  not  so  severe  as  to  make  winterkilling  prob- 
able, the  seeding  of  clover  in  August  or  early  September 
without  a  nurse  crop  is  often  more  successful  than  sowing  with 
a  grain  crop.  The  use  of  a  nurse  crop  allows  the  production 
of  a  crop  while  the  stand  of  clover  is  being  established,  and 
the  stubble  is  of  some  protection  to  the  young  plants,  par- 
ticularly during  the  winter.  The  nurse  crop,  however, 
often  draws  so  heavily  on  the  supply  of  soil  moisture  and 
plant  food  that  the  clover  is  injured,  while  the  sudden 
exposure  of  the  tender  plants  to  the  full  effects  of  the  sun  and 
wind  in  midsummer  when  the  grain  is  removed  is  often  dis- 
astrous. The  loss  of  a  crop  may  be  avoided  by  preparing 
the  land  after  the  grain  is  harvested  and  sowing  the  clover 
not  later  than  August  15.    Sowing  after  that  date  is  likely 


340 


FIELD  CROPS 


to  result  in  loss  from  winterkilling.  If  sown  after  grain  or 
early  potatoes,  the  land  need  not  be  plowed,  but  should  be 
disked  and  harrowed  so  as  to  make  it  fine  and  mellow.  If 
clover  is  sown  alone  in  the  spring,  under  favorable  conditions 
a  fair  cutting  of  hay  may  be  obtained  that  season;  if  sown 
in  the  late  summer  after  some  other  crop  is  removed,  a  good 
crop  should  be  produced  the  following  year. 


:'^i 


fe>- 


■^>t 


Figure  116. — A  good  stand  of  young  clover  in  grain  stubble, 

450.  Inoculation.  In  sections  where  red  clover  is  com- 
monly grown,  inoculation  is  not  usually  necessary,  for  the 
soil  is  well  stocked  with  the  proper  bacteria.  In  newly 
settled  regions  where  it  is  desired  to  introduce  clover,  inoc- 
ulation by  means  of  soil  from  an  old  clover  field  or  of  pure 
cultures  of  the  proper  bacteria  may  sometimes  be  necessary. 

451.  Treatment  of  the  Crop.  Clover  is  seldom  given 
any  treatment  from  the  time  the  seed  is  sown  till  it  is  cut  for 
hay  the  following  year.  It  is  sometimes  possible  to  pasture 
spring  seeding  the  following  fall,  but  close  pasturing  will 
reduce  the  crop  the  succeeding  year.  Cattle  inj  ure  the  young 
plants  much  less  than  sheep  or  hogs,  because  they  do  not 


MAKING  CLOVER  HAY  341 

graze  so  closely.  Clipping  back  the  young  clover  and  the 
weeds  a  few  weeks  after  the  nurse  crop  is  harvested  is  often 
the  most  beneficial  treatment  which  can  be  given.  This 
treatment  is  not  advisable  in  the  North,  however,  unless 
there  is  time  before  frost  for  the  plants  to  make  sufficient 
growth  to  protect  the  roots  from  winter  injury.  A  top- 
dressing  of  manure  will  greatly  increase  the  yield,  though, 
if  the  supply  of  manure  is  limited,  it  may  be  appUed  with 
greater  profit  just  before  breaking  up  the  clover  sod  for  corn. 

The  usual  practice  the  second  season  is  to  cut  the  first 
crop  for  hay  as  soon  as  it  comes  into  blossom,  cutting  the 
second  crop  either  for  seed  or  hay.  Conditions  are  usually 
better  for  seed  production  at  the  time  the  second  crojp 
matures.  !  The  second  growth  may  also  be  pastured,  or  if 
the  land  needs  vegetable  matter  it  may  be  plowed  under  to 
benefit  the  crop  which  follows.  Better  returns  will  be  ob- 
tained, however,  if  this  second  crop  is  pastured  or  is  cut 
and  fed  on  the  farm  and  the  manure  returned  to  the  land. 
Clover  alone  ordinarily  does  not  maintain  a  good  stand 
after  the  second  year  unless  the  second  crop  is  allowed  to 
produce  seed  and  this  seed  is  harrowed  in.  When  mixed 
with  timothy,  good  meadows  may  be  maintained  for  three  or 
four  years,  particularly  if  a  top-dressing  of  manure  is  given, 
but  the  hay  crop  during  the  later  years  will  contain  a  large 
proportion  of  timothy. 

452.  Making  Clover  Hay.  Directions  have  already  been 
given  for  hay  making  (Sections  350-352).  Somewhat  more 
than  ordinary  care  is  needed  to  make  good  hay  from  clover 
or  the  other  leguminous  crops,  for  they  cure  less  readily  than 
the  grasses.  The  best  clover  hay  is  usually  obtained  by  cut- 
ting when  a  majority  of  the  blossoms  are  a  Httle  past  full 
bloom.  As  the  leaves  contain  a  large  part  of  the  food  mate- 
rial in  the  most  palatable  form,  they  are  a  very  valuable  part 
of  the  hay.  They  are  best  retained  by  curing  largely  in  the 
shade.    The  hay  should  be  cut  in  the  morning  as  soon  as 


342 


FIELD  CROPS 


the  dew  is  off,  kept  loose  with  the  tedder,  and  raked  and  put 
into  small  cocks  before  the  leaves  are  dry  enough  to  shatter. 
In  this  way  most  of  the  curing  is  done  in  the  cock  where 


Pigure  117.— A  fiue  stand  of  young  clover  in  corn.  The  practice  of  seeding 
clover  in  corn  at  the  last  cultivation  is  growing  to  be  quite  common  in 
some  sections. 

the  leaves  are  protected  from  the  sun.  Two  or  three  days 
are  necessary  in  good  weather  for  the  clover  to  cure.  It  is 
usually  desirable  to  open  the  cocks  to  the  sun  and  air  for 


PASTURING  RED  CLOVER  343 

a  few  hours  before  storing.  The  use  of  cock  covers  to  pro- 
tect the  hay  from  dew  and  rain  is  generally  necessary  to 
obtain  the  best  quahty  of  hay.  Clover  should  not  be  allowed 
to  become  too  dry  before  it  is  put  into  the  mow  or  stack,  or 
the  leaves  will  crumble  and  the  hay  will  be  dusty. 

If  the  hay  is  stacked,  rather  more  than  ordinary  care  is 
necessary  in  building  the  stack,  for  clover  hay  does  not  shed 
water  as  readily  as  hay  made  from  the  grasses.  Much  valu- 
able hay  may  be  saved  if  a  foundation  of  rails  or  of  poor 
hay  is  put  down  before  the  stack  of  clover  hay  is  started 
and  if  the  stack  is  covered  with  grass  hay,  straw,  or  boards. 
It  is  a  good  plan  to  have  this  covering  extend  as  far  down  the 
sides  of  the  stack  as  possible  to  prevent  loss  from  weathering. 

Care  must  be  taken  not  to  put  the  hay  into  the  mow  or 
stack  when  it  is  wet  with  dew  or  rain,  as  spontaneous  com- 
bustion may  result  from  the  heating  which  will  take  place. 
Even  though  the  hay  does  not  become  hot  enough  to  burn,  it 
is  very  likely  to  be  seriously  damaged. 

453.  Pasturing  Red  Clover.  Red  clover  is  an  excellent 
pasture  plant  for  stock  of  all  kinds,  though  it  is  not  so  good 
for  permanent  pasture  as  white  clover.  Close  pasturing 
during  the  first  year  of  its  growth  or  early  in  the  spring  is 
likely  to  greatly  reduce  the  quantity  of  hay  or  pasture  which 
will  be  supplied  during  the  season.  Sheep  or  cattle  are  some- 
times Hkely  to  bloat  when  first  turned  on  clover  pasture, 
particularly  if  they  are  hungry  and  the  clover  is  damp.  The 
stock  should  be  well  filled  with  other  feed  when  turned  in  and 
be  accustomed  to  the  clover  gradually. 

454.  Value  of  Clover  Hay  and  Pasture.  As  clover  is  rich 
in  protein,  it  makes  an  excellent  part  of  the  ration  for  all 
kinds  of  stock,  particularly  for  young  and  growing  animals, 
for  dairy  cows,  and  for  poultry.  Where  clover  can  be  grown 
successfully,  protein  can  be  supplied  more  cheaply  in  this 
form  than  in  bran,  oilmeal,  or  other  expensive  purchased 
feeds.     Red  clover  contains  considera]:)ly  less  protein  than 


344  FIELD  CROPS 

alfalfa,  but  about  the  same  quantity  of  the  other  nutrients 
(Section  330).     It  is  best  for  pasture  along  with  timothy. 

455.  Harvesting  the  Seed  Crop.  The  production  of  seed 
is  usually  possible  wherever  clover  can  be  grown  successfully. 
Except  in  the  extreme  northern  part  of  the  clover  region,  it  is 
customary  to  utilize  the  second  growth  for  seed  production, 
because  it  is  more  Hkely  to  produce  a  profitable  crop.  To 
have  the  seed  mature  in  good  weather  and  escape  insect  pests 
which  may  be  serious  a  little  later,  the  first  crop  is  cut  a  few 
days  earlier,  when  the  second  crop  is  to  be  cut  for  seed,  than 
would  otherwise  be  done.  In  the  North,  where  the  growing 
season  is  short,  there  is  not  time  to  grow  a  crop  of  hay  and 
one  of  seed;  so  the  early  growth  is  pastured  or  clipped  back 
till  about  the  middle  of  June,  and  the  plants  are  then  allowed 
to  bloom  and  produce  seed.  This  is  the  practice  to  some 
extent  where  there  is  ample  time  for  two  crops  to  mature,  as 
the  attacks  of  the  clover  midge  and  other  insects  are  averted 
and  much  larger  yields  of  seed  are  obtained. 

Clover  seed  should  be  cut  when  the  heads  have  turned 
brown,  and  the  seed  is  in  the  hard  dough  stage.  If  cut  earlier, 
shriveled  seed  will  result;  while,  if  cutting  is  delayed,  many 
of  the  heads  will  break  off  in  handling.  Unless  an  average 
of  twenty-five  or  more  seeds  can  be  rubbed  out  of  the 
mature  heads,  it  will  not  usually  pay  to  cut  the  crop  for  seed; 
it  should  be  cut  for  hay  instead.  The  seed  crop  should  be 
handled  as  little  as  possible  to  prevent  loss  of  the  heads. 
The  usual  method  is  to  cut  with  a  self-rake  reaper  or  with 
a  mower  with  buncher  attached.  Either  of  these  imple- 
ments places  the  clover  behind  the  machine  where  it  will  not 
be  trampled  by  the  horses  on  the  next  round.  It  is  then  put 
into  cocks  for  curing,  and  within  a  week  or  two,  if  the  weather 
is  favorable,  it  is  ready  to  be  hulled.  Clover  seed  is  seldom 
stacked,  for  too  much  of  the  seed  would  be  lost  in  the  extra 
handUng.  The  clover  huller  is  quite  similar  to  the  thresh- 
ing machine,  but  has  an  extra  set  of  rasps  for  rubbing  the 


CLOVER  IN  ROTATION  345 

seed  from  the  hulls.  The  usual  yield  is  but  1  or  2  bushels 
to  the  acre,  though  5  bushels  is  sometimes  obtained.  The 
usual  price  for  clover  seed  is  from  $5  to  SIO  a  bushel  of  60 
pounds,  though  in  1918  it  sold  as  high  as  $20  a  bushel. 

456.  Place  in  the  Rotation.  Clover  occupies  a  prominent 
place  in  the  rotation  throughout  the  region  where  it  is  grown. 
It  usually  follows  a  small  grain  crop  and  precedes  corn  or 
potatoes.  As  has  previously  been  stated,  it  is  generally 
sown  with  winter  wheat  or  with  some  one  of  the  spring  grains. 
Where  corn  is  an  important  crop,  the  common  rotation  is 
a  3-year  one  of  wheat,  clover,  corn  or  oats,  clover,  corn, 
though  two  crops  of  corn  may  be  grown  in  succession,  making 
a  4-year  rotation.  Where  potatoes  are  largely  grown,  a  com- 
mon rotation  is  potatoes,  oats,  clover.  Sometimes  the  clover 
is  left  for  two  years,  or  two  crops  of  potatoes  or  one  of  pota- 
toes and  one  of  corn  are  grown,  making  this  a  4-year  instead 
of  a  3-year  rotation.  In  any  case,  clover  is  depended  on  to 
add  vegetable  matter  and  nitrogen  to  the  soil.  Where  it 
is  grown  as  often  as  once  in  three  years,  this  element  need 
not  generally  be  purchased,  but  potash  and  phosphorus  will 
have  to  be  added  either  in  commercial  fertilizers  or  barn- 
yard manure,  unless  the  soil  is  very  rich  in  these  constitu- 
ents. Best  results  are  usually  obtained  when  the  manure  is 
applied  to  the  clover  sod  before  breaking  it  up  for  corn. 

457.  Enemies  of  Red  Clover.  The  most  common  fun- 
gous diseases  which  attack  the  clover  plant  are  leaf  spot,  rust, 
stem  rot,  and  root  rot.  These  diseases  seldom  do  serious 
injury  to  a  vigorous  stand,  but  on  poor  land  or  elsewhere 
under  conditions  where  the  plant  does  not  thrive  they  may 
cause  serious  injuiy.  The  best  remedies  are  to  improve  the 
condition  of  the  soil  by  adding  fertility  or  by  draining,  and 
to  practice  a  proper  rotation  of  crops. 

Insects  usually  do  far  more  damage  to  clover  than  dis- 
eases. Among  the  more  common  enemies  are  the  clover-root- 
borer,  the  clover-leaf  weevil,  and  the  clover-fiower  midge. 


346  FIELD  CROPS 

The  rootborer  usuall}^  does  not  seriously  affect  the  stand 
until  the  latter  part  of  the  second  year,  when  the  I'oots  are 
large  enough  to  harbor  the  larvae,  or  grubs.  They  then 
enter  the  roots  and  bore  through  the  upper  portions,  greatly 
weakening  the  plants.  The  best  remedy  is  to  plow  the 
land  soon  after  the  crop  of  hay  is  removed  the  second  year, 
thus  destrojdng  the  food  of  the  grubs.  The  clover-leaf 
weevil  sometimes  destroys  the  leaves  of  the  plant  in  the 
early  spring;  but,  as  new  growth  is  soon  produced,  it  does 
little  serious  damage.  The  clover-flower  midge  does  no 
harm  to  the  hay  crop;  but,  as  the  eggs  are  laid  in  the  heads 
and  the  grubs  develop  there,  they  feed  on  the  young  seed  and 
prevent  the  production  of  a  seed  crop.  Their  ravages  are 
checked  if  the  first  crop  of  hay  is  cut  quite  early,  for  the 
larvae  will  then  have  no  opportunity  to  develop,  and 
the  second  crop  will  be  beyond  the  possibility  of  damage  by 
the  time  the  second  brood  appears. 

A  parasitic  pest  known  as  dodder  is  sometimes  quite 
troublesome  in  clover  fields.  This  plant  begins  growth  about 
the  same  time  as  the  young  clover  plants,  and  the  stem 
soon  attaches  itself  to  the  stems  and  leaves  of  the  clover, 
coiling  tightly  around  them.  The  ground  stem  of  the  dodder 
then  dies  away  and  the  plant  lives  on  the  clover.  The  best 
preventive  measure  is  to  examine  the  clover  seed  carefully 
to  make  certain  that  it  is  free  from  the  seeds  of  dodder.  If 
it  gets  into  the  field,  the  entire  growth  of  clover  which  con- 
tains dodder  should  be  cut  away  close  to  the  ground  and 
burned.  Great  care  should  be  taken  that  no  pieces  of  dodder 
are  left  or  dropped,  as  they  will  at  once  start  into  new  growth. 

WHITE  CLOVER 

458.  White  Clover  is  one  of  our  commonest  plants,  ap- 
pearing in  pastures,  lawns,  roadsides,  and  other  places  which 
are  left  unbroken  for  two  or  three  years.  It  is  a  shallow- 
rooted  plant  with  a  creeping  habit  of  growth,    It  does  not 


WHITE  CLOVER 


347 


grow  high  enough  for  hay  production,  but  with  Kentucky 
blue  grass  forms  the  best  pasture  combination  for  a  large 
part  of  the  country.  The  botanical  name,  Trifolium  repens, 
indicates  its  trailing  hab- 
it. The  plant  is  peren- 
nial, with  small,  long- 
stalked  leaves  and  small 
heads  of  white  or  pinkish 
flowers  on  long  stems. 
The  seeds  are  only  about 
half  as  long  as  those  of 
red  clover,  and  are  orange 
or  yellow  in  color.  The 
plant  grows  and  blooms 
practically  throughout 
the  season. 

White  clover  is  occa- 
sionally sown  in  pasture 
mixtures  at  the  rate  of 
from  2  to  5  pounds  to  the 
acre,  though  the  natural 
growth  of  this  plant  is 
generally  depended  on  to 
produce  a  good  stand  in 
pastures.  Its  prostrate 
or  trailing  habit  material- 
ly helps  it  in  its  spread, 
as  the  stems  root  at  the 
joints  and  produce  new 

plants.  It  is  for  this  reason  and  on  account  of  the  small 
size  of  the  seeds  that  white  clover  spreads  so  rapidly,  and 
that  such  a  small  quantity  of  seed  is  needed  to  obtain  a 
good  stand.  White  clover  is  an  important  honey  plant,  and 
is  also  generally  used  in  lawn  mixtures.  With  blue  grass 
it  makes  a  close,  even  turf  which  stands  frequent  cutting. 


Figure  118. — Alsike  U)  and  while  clover 
(2).  Note  the  differences  in  habit  of 
growth  and  the  manner  in  which  roots  are 
produced  all  along  the  stem  of  white  clover. 
It  is  thia  character  which  makes  it  ao 
persistent  in  pastures. 


348  FIELD  CROPS 

The  seed  is  produced  mostly  in  eastern  Wisconsin,  where 
this  plant  is  grown  in  a  2-year  rotation  with  barley.  The 
price  is  usually  about  the  same  as  that  of  red  clover  seed. 

ALSIKE  CLOVER 

459.  Alsike  Clover  is  intermediate  in  appearance  between 
red  and  white  clover,  and  is  claimed  by  some  to  be  a  hybrid 
between  the  two  species.  Its  botanical  name,  Trifolium 
hybridum,  indicates  such  an  origin,  but  botanists  now  gen- 
erally agree  that  it  is  a  distinct  species.  The  plant  makes 
a  slender,  upright  growth,  which  needs  support  to  prevent 
lodging,  so  that  it  does  best  in  a  mixture  with  some  of  the 
grasses,  as  timothy  or  brome  grass.  As  the  stems  are  smooth, 
it  makes  a  cleaner  hay  than  red  clover.  The  leaves  have 
long  stalks  like  white  clover;  the  leaflets  are  somewhat  larger 
than  those  of  white  clover,  as  are  also  the  heads  of  pink 
flowers  and  the  yellow  or  green  seeds.  The  name  alsike  is 
from  the  town  of  Syke  or  Alsyke  in  Sweden,  where  the  plant 
is  said  to  have  been  first  cultivated.  Another  common 
name,  Swedish  clover,  is  from  a  sunilar  source. 

Alsike  clover  is  particularly  adapted  to  wet  lands^  where  it 
is  often  substituted  for  red  clover.  It  makes  hay  of  excel- 
lent quaHty,  but  the  yield  is  usually  less  than  that  of  red 
clover,  and  only  one  cutting  can  be  made  during  the  season. 
It  is  less  adapted  to  use  in  pastures  than  white  clover.  When 
sown  in  mixtures  with  grasses,  about  4  to  6  pounds  of  seed 
is  used.  The  hay  is  somewhat  easier  to  cure  than  red  clover 
hay,  because  the  stems  are  smaller.  The  plant  Hves  from 
three  to  five  years,  and  is,  therefore,  more  permanent  than 
red  clover.     It  will  also  endure  cold  better. 

CRIMSON  CLOVER 

460.  Crimson  Clover,  Trifolium  incarnatum,  is  an  annual 
clover  which  is  sown  along  the  southern  Atlantic  coast  as  a 
winter  cover  and  green  manure  crop,  and  is  also  used  to  some 


CRIMSON  CLOVER 


349 


extent  for  the  production  of  hay.  This  plant  was  introduced 
from  Europe  at  a  comparatively  recent  date  and  is  not 
extensively  grown.  From  Delaware  southward,  it  makes  an 
excellent  cover  crop  in  orchards  and  elsewhere.  It  should 
be  seeded  in  July  or  early  in  August  and  plowed  under  or  cut 
for  hay  when  it  comes  into  bloom  the  following  spring.  The 
plants,  which  reach  a  height  of  3  feet  on 
good  soil,  are  erect  in  their  growth.  The 
heads  are  terminal,  and  are  much  longer 
than  those  of  the  other  clovers,  forming  a 
dense  spike.  The  bright  crimson  flowers 
are  very  striking  in  appearance.  The  red- 
dish yellow  or  straw  yellow  seeds  are  larger 
than  those  of  red  clover.  Twelve  to  twenty 
pounds  is  sown  to  the  acre.  A  mixture  with 
other  seed  is  seldom  used. 

Crimson  clover  may  be  sown  along  the 
Atlantic  coast  in  August  and  plowed  under 
in  May  in  plenty  of  time  to  plant  a  crop 
of  cotton  or  corn.  It  adds  a  large  quantity 
of  vegetable  matter  to  the  soil  and  also 
materially  increases  the  supply  of  nitrogen, 
used  as  a  pasture  crop,  but  is  occasionally  cut  for  hay.  The 
hairy  stems  and  leaves  are  somewhat  objectionable,  and 
when  the  hay  forms  a  large  part  or  all  of  the  ration  of  an 
animal,  *'hair  balls"  are  sometimes  formed  in  the  stomach, 
giving  considerable  trouble. 

LABORATORY  AND  FIELD  EXERCISES 

1.  Mount  specimens  of  the  diflferent  kinds  of  clovers,  showing 
full  root  system. 

2.  Compare  roots  taken  from  different  kinds  of  soils.     What  is 
the  difference?    Why? 

3.  Compare  the  leaves  and  stems.     What  do  these  have  to  do 
with  the  quahty  of  hay? 

4.  If  possible,  try  to  grow  a  few  clover  plants  on  inoculat'sd  soil 
aud  a  few  on  soil  that  has  not  been  inoculated.     What  are  the  results? 


Figure  119. — Crim- 
son clover. 


It  is  seldom 


350  FIELD  CROPS 

REFERENCES 

Cyclopedia  of  American  Agriculture,  Vol.  II,  Bailey. 

Farm  Crops,  Burkett. 

Forage  and  Fiber  Crops  in  America,  Hunt. 

Field  Crop  Production,  Livingston. 

Productive  Farm  Crops,  Montgomery. 

Forage  Crops  and  Their  Culture,  Piper. 

Clovers  and  How  to  Grow  Them,  Shaw, 

Forage  Crops,  Voorhees. 

Farmers'  Bulletins: 

455.  Red  Clover. 

550.  Crimson  Clover:     Growing  the  Crop. 

579.  Crimson  Clover:     Utilization. 

646.  Crimson  Clover:     Seed  Production. 

676.  Hard  Clover  Seed  and  Its  Treatment  in  Hulhng. 


CHAPTER  XIX 
ALFALFA 

461.  Origin  and  History.  Alfalfa  has  been  cultivated 
for  forage  longer  than  any  other  leguminous  plant.  Though 
it  is  probable  that  both  the  cowpea  and  the  soy  bean  were 
grown  at  an  earlier  date  for  their  seeds,  their  first  use  as 
forage  is  much  more  recent  than  that  of  alfalfa.  Alfalfa 
is  a  native  of  Persia  and  other  portions  of  southwestern 
Asia,  whence  it  was  taken  to  Greece  more  than  two  thousand 
years  ago.  ).t  was  cultivated  by  the  Romans,  and  for  many 
centuries  has  been  an  important  forage  crop  in  southern 
Europe.  The  Spanish  introduced  it  at  a  very  early  date  into 
South  America,  Mexico,  and  what  is  now  southwestern 
United  States.  It  was  very  successful  in  California  and 
elsewhere,  but  the  earlier  attempts  to  grow  it  east  of  the 
Rocky  Mountains  were  failures.  It  is  now  known  that  these 
failures  were  due  quite  largely  to  the  absence  of  the  proper 
bacteria,  but  it  was  long  thought  that  other  soil  conditions 
were  not  suitable.  Finally  it  was  successfully  grown  in 
Kansas,  and  since  the  cause  of  the  earUer  failures  has  been 
shown,  and  its  obvious  advantages  are  understood,  it  is 
now  being  grown  in  every  state  of  the  Union. 

462.  Description.  Alfalfa  differs  from  the  clovers,  to 
which  it  is  closely  related,  in  that  the  flowers  are  in  short 
spikes  rather  than  in  dense  heads;  the  pods  are  coiled  instead 
of  straight;  and  the  third  leaflet,  instead  of  growing  from  the 
same  point  as  the  other  two,  is  on  a  short  stalk  of  its  own, 
making  the  leaf  pinnate  instead  of  palmate.  The  genus  to 
which  alfalfa  belongs,  Medicago,  differs  from  another  closely 
related  one,  Melilotus,  the  sweet  clovers,  in  that  the  sweet 
clover  flowers  are  in  long  racemes  and  the  pods  are  straight. 

351 


352 


FIELD  CRVPS 


The  sweet  clover  leaflets  are  arranged  like  those  of  alf  a  If  a,  and 
the  plants  are  quite  similar  till  they  begin  to  bloom. 

Alfalfa,  Medicago  sativa,  differs  from  the  other  plants  of 
the  genus  which  are  found  in  America  in  that  it  is  peren- 
nial instead  of  an- 
nual, and  that  the 
flowers  are  usually 
purple,  while  those 
of  the  others,  the 
medics  or  the  bur 
clovers,  are  yellow. 
The  numerous 
stems  which  are 
produced  arise  from 
a  crown,  growing 
from  15  to  24  inches 
long,  and  are  erect 
or  spreading  ac- 
cording to  their 
length  and  the 
thickness  of  the 
stand.  The  long 
taproot  penetrates 
to  a  great  depth, 
with  many  small 
branches  or  feed- 
ing  roots.     The 


'-■  i 

WW. 

^^^^^■^^K 

m 

mm 

Figure  120. — Alfalfa  plant  showing  the  manner  in 
which  a  large  number  of  stems  are  produced  from 
one  root  or  crown. 


leaflets  vary  great- 
ly in  size,  but  usually  range  from  J/^  to  1  inch  in  length 
and  somewhat  less  in  width.  The  flowers,  which  are  slight- 
ly larger  than  the  individual  flowers  of  red  clover,  are  in 
short  racemes.  •  They  are  usually  violet-purple  in  color, 
though  sometimes  much  lighter,  inclining  to  a  pale  whitish 
or  yellowish  purple.  The  pods  are  in  two  or  three  coils, 
brown  when  ripe,  and  contain  several  seeds.     The  seeds  are 


VARIETIES  OF  ALFALFA  353 

somewhat  kidney-shaped,  though  the  coils  of  the  pod  may 
compress  them  into  other  forms.  They  are  about  the  same 
size  as  red  clover  seeds,  but  are  much  less  variable  in  color, 
being  quite  uniformly  bright  olive  green. 

463.  Varieties.  The  ordinary  grower  gives  little  atten- 
tion to  varieties  of  alfalfa,  and  few  really  distinct  ones  have 
been  developed.  One  which  is  prominent  in  Minnesota, 
North  Dokata,  and  other  northern  states  on  account  of  its 
hardiness  is  the  Grimm  alfalfa,  introduced  into  Carver 
County,  Minnesota,  by  WendeUn  Grimm,  an  early  German 
settler.  Other  strains  of  alfalfa  have  recently  been  intro- 
duced which  are  quite  similar  to  the  Grimm  in  many  respects. 
The  most  noticeable  difference  in  Grimm  alfalfa  from  the 
ordinary  type,  in  addition  to  its  extra  hardiness,  is  the  wide 
variation  in  the  color  of  the  flowers,  ranging  from  white 
through  yellow  and  greenish  to  the  purple  of  the  ordinary 
strain.  Other  varieties  are  named  largely  from  the  locali- 
ties from  which  they  have  been  imported,  including  the 
Turkestan,  Peruvian,  and  Arabian.  Large  quantities  of 
seed  of  ordinary  alfalfa  have  been  sold  as  Turkestan,  which 
was  claimed  to  be  remarkably  resistant  to  drought  and  cold. 
The  true  Turkestan  alfalfa  does  possess  these  qualities  to 
some  extent,  but  it  is  better  than  the  common  varieties  only 
in  limited  sections  in  the  semiarid  West.  Both  Peruvian 
and  Arabian  alfalfa  are  marked  by  a  long  growing  season 
and  a  lack  of  hardiness.  They  are  a  success  only  in  the  South- 
west, as  in  Arizona  and  southern  California. 

464.  Production  in  the  United  States.  The  area  in 
alfalfa,  as  reported  by  the  Census  of  1910,  was  4,702,000 
acres,  the  largest  acreages  being  in  Kansas,  Colorado, 
California,  Utah,  and  Idaho,  though  the  crop  is  widely 
grown  in  all  the  states  from  Nebraska  and  Kansas  west- 
ward, including  Montana,  Oklahoma,  and  portions  of 
Texas.  While  it  is  more  naturally  adapted  to  warmer  cli- 
mates, it  is  grown  as  far  north  as  Canada  and  in  altitudes  as 

23— 


354  FIELD  CROPS 

high  as  8,000  feet.  In  the  irrigated  portions  of  the  Far 
Western  states,  alfalfa  is  the  principal  forage  crop.  Out- 
side of  this  district,  it  is  more  important  in  Kansas  than  else- 
where, nearly  one  million  acres  now  being  grown  in  that  state, 
the  alfalfa  acreage  exceeding  the  combined  area  in  clovei* 
and  all  the  tame  grasses.     Its  cultivation  has  spread  in  recent 


Figure  121. — Alfalfa  seed  on  the  left,  and  red  clover  seed  on  the  right. 

years  to  the  states  east  of  the  Mississippi  River,  and,  though 
there  is  no  large  acreage  in  any  state,  the  importance  of  the 
crop  is  rapidly  increasing. 

The  reasons  for  the  popularity  of  alfalfa  where  it  can 
be  grown  are  not  hard  to  find.  Once  established,  it  lasts 
for  years  and  yields  from  three  to  five  cuttings  of  very  valu- 
able hay  during  the  season,  the  total  production  being  con- 
siderably greater  than  from  red  clover.  It  thrives  in  the 
South  where  red  clover  will  not  grow;  when  once  established 
it  is  more  drought-resistant.  The  feeding  value  of  the  hay  is 
greater  than  that  of  red  clover  hsiy.  When  a  stand  of  alfalfa 
is  broken  up,  corn  or  other  crops  yield  heavily,  for  the 
alfalfa  adds  a  large  supply  of  nitrogen  to  the  soil,  and  the 
long  roots  improve  its  physical  condition  by  making  the 
lower  layers  more  porous. 

465.  The  yield  of  alfalfa  varies  greatly  in  different  por- 
tions of  the  country,  depending  on  the  rainfall,  the  fertility 


SOILS  AND  FERTILIZERS  355 

of  the  soil  and  the  length  of  the  growing  season.  In  the 
South  and  Southwest,  where  four  or  five  or  more  cuttings 
may  be  made  in  a  season  and  there  is  an  abundant  supply  of 
water  either  from  rainfall  or  irrigation,  the  yield  may  vary 
from  3^  ton  to  2  or  3  tons  to  the  acre  at  a  cutting,  and  the 
total  yield  for  the  season  may  reach  6  or  8  tons.  Where  con- 
ditions are  less  favorable,  the  annual  yield  usually  varies 
from  1  to  3  or  4  tons  to  the  acre.  The  average  yield  for  the 
entire  country  in  1909,  as  reported  by  the  Census  Bureau, 
was  2.52  tons  to  the  acre.  The  usual  growing  season  for  a 
crop  of  hay  is  from  30  to  40  days,  though  in  warm  weather, 
with  plenty  of  rain,  the  field  may  be  ready  for  cutting  in  25 
days  from  the  removal  of  the  previous  crop. 

466.  Soils  and  Fertilizers.  The  soils  best  adapted  to 
alfalfa  are  the  deep  loams,  in  which  the  roots  can  pen- 
etrate to  a  considerable  depth.  A  stiff  clay  subsoil  which  is  too 
hard  for  the  roots  to  penetrate  is  not  suitable,  while  sandy 
land  does  not  produce  growth  vigorous  enough  to  keep  down 
weeds.  On  rich  loams  a  stand  of  alfalfa,  when  well  estab- 
lished, will  usually  crowd  out  weeds  of  all  kinds.  Good 
drainage  is  essential,  for  the  plants  will  not  grow  with  "wet 
feet."  Plenty  of  water  is  a  necessity  for  the  best  growth  of 
the  crop,  but  the  plant  must  be  allowed  to  go  after  it  and 
bring  it  up  from  the  lower  layers  of  the  soil. 

Although  alfalfa  will  store  nitrogen  in  the  soil,  it  will 
not  thrive  on  poor  land.  Some  nitrogen  must  be  supplied 
till  the  plants  get  a  start  and  the  bacteria  begin  their  work. 
Good  supplies  of  phosphorus  and  potash  are  necessary. 
When  it  is  thought  advisable  to  use  acid  phosphate,  about  200 
pounds  an  acre  should  be  applied.  Barnyard  manure  is 
the  best  fertiUzer  for  alfalfa.  If  a  liberal  application  of 
manure  is  plowed  under  before  the  alfalfa  seed  is  sown, 
there  will  usually  be  no  trouble  in  getting  a  stand.  Lime 
is  essential  to  the  growth  of  alfalfa,  particularly  to  the  bac- 
teria which  live  on  its  roots.     Unless  the  soil  is  known  to 


356  FIELD  CROPS 

contain  a  liberal  supply  of  lime,  the  addition  of  a  ton  to  the 
acre  on  at  least  a  small  portion  of  the  field  as  an  experiment 
is  advisable.  Alfalfa  will  not  thrive  on  sour  soil.  Lime 
is  the  proper  corrective. 

467.  Preparation  of  the  Land.  One  of  the  greatest 
essentials  for  success  in  the  production  of  alfalfa  is  a  properly- 
prepared  seed  bed.  Few  crops  depend  so  much  on  this. 
As  it  is  very  desirable  to  have  the  land  free  from  weeds 
before  alfalfa  is  sown,  it  is  usually  well  to  have  some  culti- 
vated crop  precede  it.  In  the  South,  this  may  be  cowpeas, 
cotton,  or  corn,  though  cotton  and  corn  are  not  often  removed 
early  enough  to  allow  the  seeding  of  alfalfa  the  same  season. 
Early  potatoes  leave  the  land  in  excellent  condition  for 
alfalfa.  A  small  grain  crop,  while  not  as  desirable  as  a  culti- 
vated crop,  may  precede  alfalfa,  as  it  can  be  removed  in  time 
to  allow  the  preparation  of  the  land  for  late  summer  seeding. 

While  plowing  is  desirable,  it  is  not  always  necessary. 
If  the  land  was  plowed  for  the  preceding  crop  and  has  been 
kept  free  from  trash,  disking  often  gives  as  good  results  as 
plowing.  When  the  land  is  plowed,  the  work  should  be 
done  several  weeks  before  seeding  to  give  the  soil  time  to 
settle  and  become  firm.  Alfalfa  grows  best  in  a  soil  that  is 
fine  and  mellow  on  the  surface,  but  is  fairly  compact  beneath 
so  that  it  will  hold  moisture  well.  Where  alfalfa  is  sown 
on  corn  land  in  the  spring,  thorough  disking  and  harrowing 
will  put  it  in  good  shape.  The  same  thing  is  true  where 
alfalfa  follows  a  small  grain  crop,  particularly  if  the  land  was 
plowed  for  the  small  grain.  On  sandy  land,  it  is  well  to  sow 
the  seed  in  grain  stubble  or  to  scatter  a  light  top-dressing  of 
straw  over  the  field  to  protect  the  young  plants  from  injury 
by  the  blowing  of  the  soil  particles. 

468.  Sowing  the  Seed.  The  usual  method  is  to  sow  from 
12  to  20  pounds  of  alfalfa  seed  to  the  acre  without  a  nurse 
crop,  sowing  the  seed  with  a  broadcast  seeder  and  covering 
it  by  a  light  harrowing.     The  heavier  rate  of  seeding  is  de- 


TIME  OF  SEEDING  ALFALFA 


357 


sirable  in  the  humid  districts,  particularly  where  alfalfa  is 
not  commonly  grown.  Twelve  to  15  pounds  to  the  acre 
is  quite  sufficient 
throughout  the 
Rocky  Mountain 
and  Pacific  states. 
A  grass  seed  at- 
tachment to  a 
grain  drill  gives 
even  distribution 
of  the  seed,  but  is 
a  glower  method 
than  the  use  of 
some  type  of 
broadcast  seeder; 
The  seed  should 
])e  covered  to  a 
depth  of  from  3^ 
inch  to  2  inches, 
depending  on  the 
soil  and  the  rain- 
fall. It  should  be 
covered  deeper  in 
light  sandy  soils 
than  in  heavy 
ones,  and  in  dry 
sections  or  in  dry 
seasons  than  in 
wet  ones. 

469.  Time  of 
Seeding.  Success 
is  most  often  at- 
tained with  alfalfa 
when  it  is  sown  in  the  summer  or  early  fall,  rather  than 
in  the  spring,    From  the  middle  of  June  to  the  middle 


#^%#^->. 

%     @      tP       «>      i    '/«       B 

mm% ^  §A 0 

#    %  #    ^     sV^ 

•§  m  i)^v 

#I^^T^ 

4  ^  ^  #^   ;.  c 

mm  ##%  •:*> 

!••••«•    •:V.^, 

Figure  122. — Seeds  of  alfalfa  and  common  impurl 
ties.  Seed.s  at  right  are  natural  size.  A,  alfalfa 
B,  yellow  trefoil;  C,  sweet  clover;  D,  buckhorn 
E,  wild  carrot;  F,  wild  chicory;  G,  curled  dock 
H,  large-seeded  dodder;  I,  small-seeded  dodder 
(From  Farmers'  Bulletin  339.) 


358  FIELD  CROPS 

of  July  is  the  best  time  to  sow  alfalfa  in  the  northern 
states;  the  latter  part  of  July  or  the  first  half  of  August  is 
preferable  in  the  central  section;  in  the  South,  September 
is  best.  The  proper  time  to  sow  varies  to  some  extent  from 
year  to  year,  as  it  is  desirable  to  get  the  seed  into  the  ground 
when  it  contains  plenty  of  moisture.  If  the  land  has  been 
prepared  some  weeks  in  advance  and  has  been  harrowed 
after  every  shower  so  as  to  save  all  the  rain  which  has  fallen, 
there  is  usually  no  trouble  from  this  source,  except  in  the 
semiarid  districts.  Where  the  precipitation  is  light,  spring 
seeding  is  often  best,  in  order  to  take  advantage  of  the  June 
rains.  There  is  usually  more  trouble  from  weeds  with  spring 
seeding,  unless  special  treatment  was  given  the  previous 
year  to  clear  the  land  of  them. 

470.  Sowing  with  a  Nurse  Crop.  A  nurse  crop  is  not 
commonly  used  with  alfalfa,  though  in  some  sections  its  use 
is  regarded  as  good  practice.  On  sandy  land  a  nurse  crop 
may  protect  the  young  alfalfa  plants  from  wind  injury,  but 
it  should  be  seeded  very  thinly.  Generally,  the  use  of  a 
nurse  crop  is  more  likely  to  result  in  injury  than  in  benefit. 

471.  Inoculation.  When  alfalfa  is  sown  for  the  first  time 
in  a  locality,  inoculation  is  quite  often  necessary  to  attain 
success.  This  inoculation  may  be  by  means  of  soil  from 
an  old  alfalfa  field,  or  by  the  use  of  pure  cultures  of  the  bac- 
teria. The  use  of  soil  from  old  fields  is  more  generally  suc- 
cessful. As  the  bacterium  on  sweet  clover  is  apparently 
the  same  as  that  on  alfalfa,  the  inoculation  of  fields  where 
this  plant  grows  freely  is  not  often  necessary,  for  the  bacteria 
transfer  readily  from  one  to  the  other.  The  bacterium  from 
red  clover  will  not  grow  on  alfalfa.  When  a  good  stand  of 
alfalfa  is  once  obtained,  it  is  then  easy  to  spread  the  bacteria 
to  other  fields  by  scattering  a  few  hundred  pounds  of  the  soil 
from  the  old  fields  over  each  acre  of  the  new.  The  same 
result  may  be  obtained  if  manure  from  stock  which  have  been 
fed  on  alfalfa  hay  is  used,  while  the  dust  blown  from  one 


ALFALFA  IN  MEADOWS  359 

field  to  another  often  carries  enough  bacteria  to  inoculate 
land  on  which  the  crop  has  not  previously  been  grown. 

472.  Treatment  of  New  Meadows.  If  alfalfa  is  sown  in 
the  spring,  it  is  hkely  to  need  some  attention  during  the  first 
season  to  keep  down  weeds.  If  the  weeds  are  numerous  and 
threaten  to  destroy  the  stand  of  alfalfa,  the  plants  should 
be  clipped  back  with  the  mower  to  a  height  of  about  6  inches. 
If  the  plants  begin  to  turn  yellow,  clipping  will  often  start 
them  into  vigorous  new  growth.  If  this  yellowing  is  due  to 
disease,  the  clippings  should  be  burned,  otherwise  they  may 
be  left  as  a  mulch.  If  the  alfalfa  is  not  sown  till  late  summer 
or  early  fall,  no  clipping  or  other  treatment  is  usually  neces- 
sary that  year,  and  the  following  season  one  or  more  crops 
of  hay  may  be  cut.  The  field  should  not  be  pastured  the 
first  or  second  year,  for  the  young  crowns  are  quite  easily 
destroyed.  Later,  when  they  become  more  firmly  estab- 
Hshed,  some  pasturing  is  possible. 

473.  Treatment  of  Old  Meadows.  On  loose  soil  no  treat- 
ment is  ordinarily  given  to  alfalfa  meadows  other  than  an 
occasional  harrowing.  On  land  which  is  inclined  to  pack,  disk- 
mg  every  spring  with  the  disks  set  straight  so  as  to  cut  up 
the  surface,  but  not  to  throw  out  the  plants  or  cut  off  the 
crowns,  will  improve  the  growth  of  the  crop.  Disking  should 
be  done  with  caution  where  alfalfa  does  not  thrive,  for  it  may 
cause  much  more  injury  than  benefit.  If  it  seems  desirable 
to  disk  the  field,  experiment  with  a  small  portion  of  it  for 
a  season  before  risking  the  entire  acreage. 

474.  Making  the  Hay.  The  time  to  cut  alfalfa  for  hay 
is  when  the  young  sprouts  of  the  second  growth  begin  to 
start  from  the  crowns,  which  is  when  the  plants  are  just 
coming  into  bloom.  Cutting  should  not  be  delayed  beyond 
this  time,  for  the  leaves  of  the  old  stems  will  begin  to  drop 
off,  and  the  new  growth  will  be  considerably  retarded.  After 
the  hay  is  cut,  it  should  be  removed  from  the  land  as  soon 
as  possible  to  give  the  new  growth  a  chance.     The  growth 


360  FIELD  CROPS 

of  succeeding  crops  depends  in  large  measure  on  Uk)  prompt- 
ness of  cutting  at  the  proper  time  and  of  removing  the  hay 
when  it  is  cut.  A  httle  delay  at  each  cutting  may  mean  the 
loss  of  an  entire  crop  in  the  course  of  the  season. 

The  methods  of  curing  alfalfa  hay  do  not  differ  from  those 
of  curing  clover  hay.     It  is  very  desirable  that  the  hay  be 


Figure  123. — Hay  caps  are  useful  in  obtaining  the  best  quality  of  hay.  They 
prevent  injury  from  rain  and  aid  in  saving  a  large  proportion  of  the 
leaves  of  clover  or  alfalfa. 

cured  with  as  little  loss  of  leaves  as  possible,  and  that  it  be 
green  rather  than  brown  when  cured.  This  means  that  a 
large  part  of  the  curing  must  be  done  in  the  windrow  or 
cock.  Alfalfa  should  not  be  left  in  the  swath  exposed  to  the 
sun  and  wind  for  more  than  a  few  hours  unless  weather  ton- 
ditions  make  it  absolutely  necessary. 

After  the  hay  is  cured,  it  may  be  put  into  the  barn  or 
stack  with  the  ordinary  hay  tools.  This  is  the  usual  practice 
in  the  East,  but  in  the  West  it  is  commonly  stacked  with  the 
sweep  rakes  or  ''go-devils"  in  common  use  there.  With 
these  tools,  several  hundred  pounds  of  hay  are  gathered  in 
bunches  and  brought  to  the  stacks  without  the  use  of  wagons. 
These  stacks  are  usually  scattered  over  the  fields  to  obviate 


HARVESTING  ALFALFA  SEED  361 

hauling  for  long  distances,  the  several  cuttings  of  the  season 
all  being  put  into  the  same  stack  or  group  of  stacks. 

As  alfalfa  hay  does  not  shed  water  readily,  the  stacks 
should  be  covered  with  grass  hay  or  straw  to  prevent  injury 
from  the  weather.  If  the  hay  is  to  be  sold,  it  is  sometimes 
baled  in  the  field  as  it  cures,  particularly  in  the  dry  sections 
of  the  West,  but  for  immediate  baling  it  must  be  much  drier 
than  for  stacking. 

475.  Harvesting  the  Seed.  The  best  seed  crops  of  al- 
falfa are  produced  only  in  the  drier  portions  of  the  country. 
Alfalfa  does  not  produce  good  seed  freely  under  humid  con- 
ditions, though  a  good  quality  and  yield  of  seed  can  some- 
times be  obtained.  Most  of  the  seed  which  is  now  raised 
in  the  United  States  is  produced  in  the  irrigated  districts 
of  the  West,  though  some  dry-land  alfalfa  seed  is  grown. 
As  light  and  air  are  needed  for  the  production  of  seed,  the 
best  conditions  are  obtained  by  thin  seeding  in  rows.  As 
soon  as  the  seed  crop  is  removed,  the  land  should  be  culti- 
vated to  start  new  growth.  This  method  may  also  be  used 
for  the  production  of  hay  where  the  rainfall  is  insufficient 
to  grow  it  by  ordinary  methods. 

The  alfalfa  seed  crop  should  be  handled  in  about  the  same 
way  as  a  seed  crop  of  clover.  As  the  seed  sets  best  only  in 
hot,  dry  weather,  the  second  crop  is  usually  left  for  seed, 
conditions  then  being  more  favorable  than  at  any  other 
season.  When  irrigated  alfalfa  is  grown  for  seed,  that  par- 
ticular crop  is  not  usually  irrigated.  The  seed  crop  should 
be  cut  when  about  three  fourths  of  the  pods  are  brown. 
If  left  till  later,  many  of  the  earliest  and  best  pods  will  drop 
off  and  be  lost.  The  seed  is  usually  hulled  without  stacking, 
for  it  should  be  handled  as  little  as  possible.  A  fair  crop  of 
seed  is  3  or  4  bushels  to  the  acre,  and  as  the  price  is  usually 
high,  the  seed  crop  is  often  a  paying  one. 

476.  Alfalfa  in  Rotations.  In  the  sections  of  the  country 
where  alfalfa  does  not  succeed  particularly  well  or  where  it  is 


362 


FIELD  CROPS 


not  a  leading  crop  and  more  especially  where  weedy  grasses 
crowd  it  out  after  a  few  years,  the  use  of  this  crop  in  a  4-year 
or  5-year  rotation  is  usually  advisable.  A  good  rotation 
for  these  conditions  consists  of  oats  or  some  other  small 
grain,  alfalfa  and  corn.     The  ground  is  prepared  for  alfalfa 


Figure  124. — Cutting  alfalfa  for  seed  with  the  self-rake  reaper.  This  machine 
is  still  used  in  some  sections  for  harvesting  grain.  It  deposits  the 
crop  in  bunches,  as  shown  at  the  right  in  the  picture. 


as  soon  as  the  small  grain  is  removed  in  the  summer,  and  the 
seed  is  sown  a  few  weeks  later.  The  following  two  to  five 
years  the  alfalfa  is  cut  for  hay,  and  then  the  sod  is  broken 
for  corn.  From  one  to  three  crops  of  corn  and  two  or  three 
crops  of  small  grain  are  grown,  to  be  again  followed  by  al- 
falfa. Numerous  variations  of  this  rotation  may  be  devised, 
such  as  the  use  of  a  crop  of  early  potatoes  or  other  truck 
crop  before  seeding  alfalfa,  or  the  substitution  of  potatoes  for 
corn  where  corn  is  not  grown. 

In  some  sections,  it  is  desirable  to  leave  a  piece  of  land 
in  alfalfa  for  a  number  of  years.     No  definite  rotation  is  then 


USE  OF  ALFALFA  HAY 


363 


followed,  the  land  being  left  in  alfalfa  as  long  as  it  continues 
to  yield  profitable  crops.  The  best  success  can  be  obtained 
from  this  system  only  when  the  supply  of  phosphorus  and 
potash  is  maintained  by  the  addition  of  fertilizers.  When 
old  alfalfa  sod  is  broken,  the  land  is  planted  to  potatoes,  corn, 
or  small  grain  for  a  few  years,  and  then  reseeded  to  alfalfa. 
Larger  profits  would  often  be  made  if  the  sod  were  broken 
at  shorter  intervals  and  a  regular  I'otation  followed,  as  the 
loss  from  diseases  and  insects  would  be  reduced. 

In  the  cotton  section,  corn,  cotton,  and  alfalfa  can  l)o 
worked  into  a  good  rotation,  particularly^  if  some  small  grain 
is  grown.  Alfalfa  can  be  sown  to  best  advantage  in  this 
section  on  land  from  which  a  grain  crop  has  been  removed. 
After  two  or  three  years,  when  it  is  desired  to  break  up  ihi) 
stand  of  alfalfa,  a  crop  of  corn  may  be  grown,  followed  by 
a  crop  of  cotton.  Winter  grain  may  then  be  sown  among 
the  cotton  stalks  in  the  fall,  and  the  alfalfa  seeded  the  follow- 
ing season  after  the  grain  is  removed. 

477.  Use  of  the  Hay.  By  far  the  greater  part  of  the 
alfalfa  crop  is  used  for  hay.  This  hay  can  be  fed  to  all 
kinds  of  stock,  including  even  hogs  and  poultry.  It  is  rich 
in  feeding  value,  11  pounds  of  it  containing  as  much  protein 

Table  X  VII I.     Composition  of  A  Ifalfa 


All  analyses.. . . 
First  cutting . . . 
Second  cutting. 
Before  bloom .  . 

In  bloom 

In  seed 

Meal 

Leaves 

Stems 


DRY 


Digestible  Nutrients  in 
pounds 


Crude 
protein 


Pounds 

10.6 

9.3 

11.2 

15.4 

10.5 

8.5 

10.2 

15.8 

1.8 


Fat 


Pounds 

0.9 
0.6 
0.7 
1.6 
0.7 
1.0 
0.8 
1.3 
0.4 


GREEN 


Digestible  Nutrients  in  100 
pounds 

Crude 
protein 

Carbo- 
hydrates 

Fat 

Pounds 

3.3 

Pounds 

10.4 

Pounds 

0.4 

3.5 
3.3 

7.5 
10.8 

0.3 
0.3 



364  FIELD  CROPS 

as  10  pounds  of  bran.  It  contains  nearly  twice  as  much  pro- 
tein as  clover  hay  and  as  much  of  the  other  nutrients.  When 
fed  to  dairy  cattle,  it  can  largely  take  the  place  of  grain  or 
mill  feeds.  It  produces  rapid  gains  on  beef  cattle,  sheep,  and 
hogs,  when  fed  with  corn  or  other  grain  rich  in  carbohydrates. 
Growing  stock  of  all  kinds  utilize  alfalfa  to  good  advantage, 
and  it  produces  excellent  results  when  fed  to  laying  hens. 

478.  Alfalfa  Pasture.  While  the  stand  of  alfalfa  is  in- 
jured if  it  is  pastured  too  closely,  where  this  crop  is  grown 
in  a  short  rotation  there  is  little  harm  in  pasturing  it.  No 
better  pasture  for  hogs  can  be  found.  If  it  is  desired  to 
pasture  the  same  field  for  several  years,  a  large  enough  acre- 
age should  be  provided  so  that  it  is  never  eaten  down  close. 
If  necessary,  it  may  be  cut  for  hay  at  intervals  during  the 
season.  Care  should  be  taken  to  avoid  bloating  in  first 
turning  cattle  and  sheep  on  alfalfa  pasture  (Section  453). 

479.  Alfalfa  for  Soiling.  Perhaps  as  large  returns  are 
obtained  from  soiling  alfalfa  as  in  any  other  way.  It  starts 
into  growth  again  quickly  and  there  is  no  waste  in  feeding. 
The  largest  yields  are  obtained  if  it  is  cut  just  when  the  new 
sprouts  start  from  the  crown,  for  then  there  is  no  delay  in 
the  production  of  the  next  crop. 

480.  Alfalfa  Meal.  During  recent  years  the  manu- 
facture of  meal  from  alfalfa  hay  has  attained  some  promi- 
nence. This  is  simply  the  hay  ground  fine,  so  that  stock  eat 
the  coarser  stems  as  well  as  the  leaves.  In  this  form  it  can 
be  fed  without  loss  to  all  kinds  of  stock,  including  poultry. 

481.  Insect  and  Rodent  Pests.  The  grasshopper  is  the 
most  serious  insect  enemy  of  alfalfa  in  most  sections.  Disk- 
ing the  field  in  the  very  early  spring  is  sometimes  beneficial, 
since  it  exposes  the  young  grasshoppers  to  the  spring  frosts 
and  the  attacks  of  birds.  The  use  of  the  ''hopperdozer," 
an  implement  which  when  drawn  across  the  fields  knocks  the 
insects  into  a  pan  of  oil,  is  sometimes  necessary  when  the 
pests  become  serious.    Blister  beetles  sometimes  cause  in- 


DISEASES  OF  ALFALFA  365 

jury;  cutting  the  crop  when  they  appear  forces  them  to 
migrate.  Such  rodents  as  prairie  dogs  and  meadow  mice 
are  destructive  to  stands  of  alfalfa  in  the  West.  These  can 
best  be  dealt  with  by  poisoning  with  grain  or  potatoes  soaked 
in  strychnine,  or  pouring  carbon  bisulphide  into  the  burrows. 

482.  Diseases.  Various  rusts,  leaf-spots,  and  mildews 
sometimes  attack  alfalfa,  particularly  when  it  is  growing 
under  unfavorable  circumstances.  About  the  only  remedy 
is  to  mow  the  field,  removing  the  diseased  stems  and  leaves 
and  encouraging  the  development  of  strong  new  growth. 
In  Texas,  a  disease  known  as  root  rot  is  destructive  to  this 
and  other  taprooted  plants.  This  can  best  be  kept  in  check 
by  growing  grain  or  corn  on  the  land  for  several  years,  as 
these  plants  are  not  affected. 

483.  Weeds.  Numerous  weeds  make  the  growing  of 
alfalfa  rather  difficult;  wild  barley,  crabgrass,  and  foxtail  are 
particularly  troublesome.  In  the  blue  grass  region,  Ken- 
tucky blue  grass  is  one  of  the  worst  pests  with  which  the 
alfalfa  grower  has  to  contend.  All  these  plants  can  be  kept 
down  to  some  extent  by  disking,  but  when  they  once  gain  a 
foothold,  it  is  often  better  to  break  up  the  alfalfa  sod  and 
cultivate  the  land  for  two  years  before  starting  anew.  Where 
these  grasses  are  common,  a  short  rotation  is  better  than 
leaving  the  land  in  alfalfa  for  many  years. 

Alfalfa  dodder,  a  parasitic  vine,  is  as  serious  a  pest  as 
dodder  in  clover.  The  same  remedies,  the  sowing  of  clean 
seed  and  the  removal  of  all  dodder  plants  wherever  they  ap- 
pear, are  appUcable. 

LABORATORY  AND  FIELD  EXERCISES 

A  study  of  the  growth  of  alfalfa,  its  root  system,  and  the  tubercles 
on  its  roots,  may  be  made  in  the  field,  if  the  crop  is  grown  in  the  neigh- 
borhood. At  least  a  small  plat  of  this  plant  should  be  grown  on  the 
school  farm.  Some  time  may  well  be  spent  in  the  study  of  alfalfa 
seed,  to  become  familiar  with  the  seed  and  to  aid  in  detecting  adulter- 
ants and  other  impurities, 


366  FIELD  CROPS 

REFERENCES 

Cyclopedia  of  American  Agriculture,  Vol.  IT.  Bailey 

Farm  Crops,  Burkett. 

The  Book  of  AKalfa,  Coburn. 

Forage  and  Fiber  Crops  in  America,  Hunt. 

Field  Crop  Production,  Livingston. 

Productive  Farm  Crops,  Montgomery. 

Forage  Plants  and  Their  Culture,  Piper. 

Clovers  and  How  to  Grow  Them,  Shaw. 

Forage  Crops,  Voorhees. 

Alfalfa  in  America,  Wing. 

Meadows  and  Pastures,  Wing. 

Alfalfa,  Graber. 

Farmers'  Bulletins: 

339.  Alfalfa. 

382.  Adulteration  of  Forage-Plant  Seeds. 

495.  Alfalfa  Seed  Production. 

757.  Commercial  Varieties  of  Alfalta. 

865.  Irrigation  of  Alfalfa. 


CHAPTER  XX 
MISCELLANEOUS  LEGUMES 

484.  Other  Useful  Legumes.  In  addition  to  the  clovers 
and  alfalfa,  there  are  other  legumes  which  are  grown  in  a 
more  or  less  hmited  way  for  forage  or  for  their  seeds,  or 
both.  Among  the  plants  which  are  grown  under  field  condi- 
tions for  both  seed  and  forage  are  the  cowpea,  soy  bean,  field 
pea,  and  peanut,  while  the  field  bean  is  grown  for  the  seeds 
alone.  In  districts  where  canning  factories  are  located,  the 
common  garden  pea  is  grown  in  large  fields.  Among  the 
plants  grown  for  forage  or  green  manure  are  sweet  clover, 
bur  clover,  Japan  clover,  the  vetches,  and  the  velvet  bean. 

Of  these  legumes,  some  are  fully  as  important  in  dis- 
tricts where  they  are  grown  as  are  alfalfa  and  red  clover  in 
the  regions  to  which  they  are  adapted,  and  very  largely  take 
the  place  of  those  standard  forage  plants.  Thus  in  the 
South,  the  cowpea  is  the  most  important  forage  plant  and 
soil  renovator.  In  some  sections  of  the  North  a  similar 
place  is  held  by  the  field  pea.  Japan  clover  largely  takes 
the  place  of  white  clover  in  southern  pastures,  while  in 
Florida,  Georgia,  and  Alabama,  the  velvet  bean  is  a  most  im- 
portant forage  and  green  manure  plant. 

Still  other  less  important  leguminous  plants  are  grown 
in  a  limited  way  in  some  portions  of  the  country,  but  they 
are  not  of  enough  importance  to  require  extended  discussion. 
Among  these  plants  may  be  mentioned  sainfoin,  Egyptian  clo- 
ver, beggarweed,  trefoil,  lupines,  and  horse  bean. 

THE  COWPEA 

485.  Origin  and  Description.  The  cowpea,  Vi^na  sinensis, 
is  a  native  of  China,  where  it  has  been  cultivated  for  many 

367 


368 


FIELD  CROPS 


centuries.  Its  introduction  into  the  southern  United  States 
dates  back  only  a  few  decades.  The  plant,  which  is  an  annual, 
resembles  the  bean  much  more  closely  than  the  pea,  the  habit 
of  growth  and  the  forms  of  the  leaves  and  seeds  being  quite 
similar  to  the  garden  bean.  The  plants  vary  greatly  in  habit, 
some  of  the  varieties  standing  erect  and  reaching  a  height  of 
15  to  18  inches,  while  others  are  trail- 
ing or  twining  and  grow  several  feet 
long.  The  leaflets  are  three  in  num- 
ber; they  vary  in  length  from  2  to  6 
inches  and  are  nearly  as  wide  as  they 
are  long.  The  greenish-yellow  flowers, 
which  are  shaped  like  those  of  the  pea, 
are  borne  on  long  stalks.  The  pods 
are  several  inches  long,  cylindrical, 
and  contain  from  six  to  fifteen  seeds. 
The  seeds  are  about  the  size  of  a  navy 
bean,  though  there  is  wide  variation 
among  the  different  varieties  in  the 
size  of  the  seed  as  well  as  in  the  color 
of  the  seed  coat. 

486.  Varieties.  Numerous  vari- 
eties of  cowpeas  are  grown,  the  num- 
ber of  names  probably  reaching  sev- 
enty-five or  one  hundred .  These  vary 
in  habit  of  growth,  shape  and  color  of  the  seed,  length  of 
growing  season,  and  in  other  characters.  One  of  the  most  com- 
mon is  the  Whippoorwill,  a  vigorous-growing,  fairly  erect 
variety  with  moftled  reddish  or  chocolate-colored  seeds.  It 
is  largely  grown  for  the  production  of  both  grain  and  hay. 
The  Iron  has  small,  clay-colored  seeds.  The  vine  is  an  erect 
grower,  seeds  freely,  and  as  the  plants  are  resistant  to  dis- 
ease, it  is  coming  to  be  a  popular  variety.  The  New  Era  and 
one  or  two  similar  varieties  of  small-seeded,  mottled  peas  which 
grow  erect  and  mature  early  are  grown  to  some  extent  in  the 


Figure  125. — Cowpea  branch 
with  leaves,  pods,  and 
flowers. 


IMPORTANCE  OF  COWPEAS  369 

North,  but  are  of  little  importance  farther  south  where  the 
stronger-growing,  later  varieties  can  be  grown.  Other  more  or 
less  prominent  varieties  are  the  Black,  Blackeye,  Brabham, 
Groit,  Unknown,  Red  Ripper,  and  the  various  Crowders, 
the  latter  name  being  given  on  account  of  the  crowded 
appearance  of  the  peas  in  the  pod. 

487.  Importance.  The  cowpea  is  almost  as  great  a 
factor  in  the  agriculture  of  the  South  as  clover  is  in  that  of 
the  North  or  alfalfa  in  the  West.  As  it  grows  only  in  warm 
weather  and  needs  a  rather  long  season  to  develop,  it  is 
confined  largely  to  the  Southern  states,  though  a  few  early 
varieties  are  grown  as  far  north  as  Michigan.  The  general 
culture  of  the  plant  does  not  extend  north  of  Kansas,  Ken- 
tucky or  Maryland.  No  definite  estimate  of  the  acreage 
devoted  to  this  crop  can  be  made,  but  in  recent  years  it  has 
rapidly  increased  all  over  the  South.  It  is  used  in  a  variety 
of  ways,  as  a  hay  or  seed  crop,  as  a  pasture  crop,  as  a  gatherer 
of  nitrogen,  and  as  a  green  manure  crop  to  add  both  humus 
and  nitrogen.  It  is  sown  alone  or  in  combination  with  other 
crops,  a  common  practice  being  to  sow  it  with  corn  at  the 
last  cultivation,  either  in  the  rows  or  between  them. 

488.  Soils  and  Fertilizers.  Cowpeas  will  grow  on  almost 
any  soil,  though  naturally  they  grow  better  on  a  fertile 
loam  than  elsewhere.  Some  varieties,  like  the  Black,  are 
particularly  adapted  to  sandy  land.  Others  do  better  on 
the  heavier  clays  and  clay  loams.  As  the  cowpea  is  a  nitro- 
gen gatherer,  this  element  need  not  be  supplied.  A  con- 
siderable quantity  of  food  material  is  stored  in  the  large 
seed,  and  the  young  plant  is  able  to  develop  a  vigorous  root 
system  before  this  is  exhausted,  which  fact  explains  why  the 
cowpea  thrives  on  land  that  is  very  low  in  fertility.  Rich  land 
tends  to  produce  vines  at  the  expense  of  seed  production. 
A  fair  supply  of  potash  and  phosphorus  is  necessary  for  the 
best  growth  of  the  crop,  and  on  poor  soils  greatly  increased 
yields  are  obtained  when  these  elements  are  supplied. 

34— 


370  FIELD  CROPS 

489.  Growing  the  Crop.  Though  the  plants  will  grow 
fairly  well  on  land  that  has  had  little  attention,  the  stronger 
growth  in  a  good  seed  bed  pays  well  for  the  extra  work  of 
preparation.  The  land  is  usually  plowed  for  cowpeas,  though, 
when  they  follow  a  grain  crop  or  a  cultivated  crop  late  in 
the  season,  the  seed  may  be  disked  or  cultivated  in  without 
plowing.  The  seed  is  sown  broadcast,  with  the  grain  drill, 
or  in  rows  far  enough  apart  to  cultivate.  When  grown  for 
hay,  one  of  the  first  two  methods  is  used,  while  for  seed  pro- 
duction the  plants  are  more  often  grown  in  cultivated  rows. 
The  seed  should  be  covered  to  a  depth  of  from  IJ/^  to  2 
inches.  As  the  plants  are  tender,  seeding  should  not  begin 
till  after  all  danger  of  frost  is  past  and  the  weather  is  warm. 
Sowings  can  be  made  from  that  time  up  to  August  in  the 
South,  while  along  the  northern  limit  of  their  cultivation 
seed  may  be  sown  as  late  as  July  10  with  fair  prospect  of  a 
good  hay  crop.  The  usual  rate  of  seeding  is  2  to  3  pecks  in 
rows,  4  to  5  pecks  when  sown  with  the  grain  drill,  and  6  to 
8  pecks  when  sown  broadcast.  When  grown  for  hay,  the 
date  of  planting  is  usually  fixed  so  that  the  harvest  comes  in 
September,  as  weather  conditions  are  generally  more  favor- 
able for  curing  at  that  time  than  at  any  other.  Cowpeas 
sown  broadcast  or  with  the  grain  drill  require  no  further  treat- 
ment till  harvest.  Those  sown  in  rows  are  cultivated  much 
like  corn,  though  two  or  three  cultivations  are  all  that  are 
usually  necessary,  for  the  plants  soon  cover  the  ground. 

490.  Making  Cowpea  Hay.  Cowpeas  should  be  cut  for 
hay  when  one  third  or  more  of  the  pods  are  ripe.  The  ha}^ 
will  then  contain  the  largest  quantity  of  nutriment.  If  left 
till  haK  or  more  are  ripe,  some  of  the  peas  are  likely  to  shell 
out  in  handling  and  the  leaves  may  begin  to  drop  before 
cutting.  The  hay  is  usually  cut  with  the  mower  and  is  left 
in  the  swath  for  two  or  three  days  to  cure.  When  cut  at 
this  stage  the  hay  cures  quite  rapidly,  but  the  best  hay  is 
made  if  it  is  put  up  in  cocks  after  it  has  partly  cured  in  the 


HARVESTING  COWPEAS  371 

swath.  In  wet  weather,  frames  are  sometimes  used  to  raise 
the  hay  off  the  ground,  and  admit  air  to  all  parts  of  the  cock. 
After  the  hay  is  cured,  it  may  be  stacked  or  put  in  the  mow 
in  the  same  manner  as  other  hay. 

491.  Harvesting  the  Seed  Crop.  The  best  crops  of  cow- 
pea  seed  are  produced  when  the  plants  are  grown  in  rows 
and  cultivated.  The  crop  should  not  be  harvested  till  two 
thirds  or  more  of  the  pods  arc  fully  ripe.  The  pods  may 
be  picked  by  hand,  or  the  entire  plant  may  be  harvested 
by  cutting  with  a  self-rake  reaper,  a  beam  harvester,  or  an 
ordinary  mower  with  or  without  a  buncher  attachment.  In 
any  case,  the  pods  and  vines  should  be  thoroughly  dry  be- 
fore they  are  threshed.  If  the  vines  are  harvested,  the  use 
of  racks  for  drying  is  quite  generally  advisable  to  prevent 
the  peas  from  molding  in  the  cocks.  After  the  vines  are 
cured,  they  may  be  put  in  the  mow  or  stack  and  threshed 
out  as  desired.  The  threshing  may  be  done  with  a  flail, 
with  the  ordinaiy  threshing  machine  with  part  of  the  con- 
caves removed,  or  with  a  special  pea  thresher. 

492.  Cowpeas  as  Feed  for  Stock.  Cowpea  hay  may  be 
fed  to  all  classes  of  stock,  but  is  particularly  good  for  feeding 
to  dairy  cows,  sheep,  and  hogs.  It  makes  an  excellent  addi- 
tion to  the  ration  for  beef  cattle,  and  is  also  largely  fed  to 
horses  in  some  districts.  The  hay,  particularly  if  it  contains 
a  fair  percentage  of  seed,  is  very  rich  in  protein,  and  contains 
a  good  supply  of  the  other  food  constituents.  The  straw 
from  the  production  of  cowpea  seed  is  less  valuable  than  cow- 
pea  hay,  since  it  contains  fewer  leaves,  practically  no  seeds, 
and  the  vines  are  coarser  and  less  palatable.  It  does  con- 
tain considerable  nutriment,  however,  and,  when  fed  with 
other  material,  makes  good  roughage.  The  seeds  of  cow- 
peas  are  usually  too  high  m  price  to  be  fed  with  profit,  but 
they  are  an  excellent  feed  for  stock  of  all  kinds,  including 
poultry.  The  cowpea  plant  makes  very  good  pasture,  though 
better   results  are  usually  obtained  from  other  uses.    A 


372 


FIELD  CROPS 


field  of  mature  cowpeas  may  be  cheaply  and  profitably  har- 
vested by  pasturing  it  off  with  hogs  or  sheep.  Cattle  also 
thrive  on  cowpea  pasture,  but  should  be  turned  in  before  the 
peas  mature. 

493.  Use  as  a  Soil  Improver.     One  of  the  most  important 
uses  of  the  cowpea  is  in  the  building  up  of  poor  or  worn-out 


Figure  126. — Plowing  under  cowpeas  to  add  vegetable  matter  to  the  soil.     Note 
the  pulverizer  behind  the  plow  to  break  up  clods  and  pack  the  loose  earth. 

soils.  When  the  entire  plant  is  turned  under,  it  adds  large 
quantities  of  vegetable  matter  containing  a  considerable 
supply  of  nitrogen.  When  the  stubble  alone  is  plowed  under, 
the  vigorous  roots  materially  improve  the  condition  of  the 
soil  and  some  nitrogen  is  added.  Practically  all  crops  grow 
better  after  cowpeas.  Largely  increased  yields  have  been 
obtained  at  all  the  southern  experiment  stations  following 
this  crop. 

494,  Growing    with    Other    Crops.     Cowpeas    are    fre- 
quently grown  with  other  crops,  including  sorghuni,  corn. 


aoWPEAS  IN  ROTATION  373 

and  millet.  When  grown  with  sorghum  or  millet,  the  seed 
is  usually  sown  broadcast  and  the  crop  cut  for  hay  or  for 
green  forage.  The  addition  of  these  plants  makes  the  hay 
somewhat  easier  to  cure  and  also  increases  the  yield.  Peas 
may  be  planted  in  the  rows  with  corn  and  may  grow  along 
with  the  crop,  both  being  cut  for  fodder  or  for  silage,  or  they 
may  be  planted  in  the  corn  at  the  last  cultivation.  In  the 
latter  case,  they  are  pastured  off  with  the  cornstalks  after 
the  corn  is  harvested,  or  the  vines  are  turned  under  to  add 
vegetable  matter  to  the  soil. 

495.  Use  in  Rotations.  As  corn  and  cotton  are  the 
most  important  crops  in  the  region  where  cowpeas  are  most 
largely  grown,  all  rotations  are  usually  based  on  these  two 
crops.  A  good  rotation  is  (1)  cotton;  (2)  corn  with  cowpeas 
sown  in  it;  (3)  winter  grain  sown  after  the  corn  is  removed, 
followed  the  next  summer  by  cowpeas  sown  on  the  stubble 
for  hay  or  seed.  Numerous  variations  of  this  rotation  may 
be  devised,  but  if  possible  a  crop  of  cowpeas  should  be  turned 
under  and  one  harvested  for  hay  or  seed  once  in  three  years. 
As  the  seasons  are  long  and  the  crops  make  rapid  growth  in 
warm  weather,  the  plan  of  growing  cowpeas  after  a  grain 
crop  has  been  harvested  is  entirely  practicable  in  the  South. 

496.  Insects  and  Diseases.  Cowpeas  are  seldom  injured 
by  insects  when  growing,  but  weevils  are  very  destructive 
to  the  seed  after  it  is  harvested.  It  is  generally  believed 
that  they  damage  the  seed  less  in  the  pod  than  w  hen  it  is 
threshed,  and  so  it  is  rather  a  common  practice  not  to  thresh 
the  seed  till  near  planting  time  in  the  spring.  In  threshed 
seed,  they  may  be  killed  l)y  fumigating  in  tight  boxes  or  bins 
with  carbon  bisulphide  (Section  150),  or  by  being  raised  to 
a  temperature  of  130°  F.  in  a  tight  room  for  20  minutes. 

The  most  troublesome  diseases  are  root  knot  and  wilt, 
which  usually  occur  only  on  sandy  soils  along  the  Atlantic 
Coast.  The  best  preventive  measures  are  rotation  of  crops 
and  the  use  of  resistant  varieties,  such  as  Iron. 


374  FIELD  CROPS 

THE  SOY  BEAN 

497.  Origin  and  Description.  Much  that  has  been  said 
regarding  the  cowpea  apphes  equally  well  to  the  soy  bean. 
This  plant  was  introduced  into  the  United  States  nearly  one 
hundred  years  ago  from  Japan  and  China,  where,  Hke  the 
cowpea,  it  has  been  cultivated  for  many  centuries,  but  it 
has  come  into  prominence  only  recently.  The  growth  is 
usually  erect,  with  stiff,  hairy  stems  and  numerous  large, 
broad  leaves.  The  leaves,  which  are  borne  on  long  stems, 
consist  of  three  leaflets.  The  leaflets  are  from  2  to  3  inches 
long;  and  the  width  is  about  two  thirds  of  the  length.  The 
flowers  are  small,  clustered  in  the  axils  of  the  leaves,  and  are 
usually  pale  purple  or  lilac  in  color.  The  short,  hairy  pods 
contain  two  or  three  round  or  slightly  flattened  seeds.  The 
seeds  are  usually  black,  green,  or  yellow;  and  range  in  diam- 
eter from  one  eighth  to  one  quarter  of  an  inch.  The  size 
of  the  plant,  the  habit  of  growth,  and  the  size  and  color  of 
the  seeds  vary  even  more  than  these  characters  of  the  cowpea. 
While  most  of  the  varieties  are  erect  and  vary  in  height 
from  1  to  4  feet,  some  sorts  have  small  seeds,  small  leaves  and 
a  trailing  habit,  the  vines  reaching  a  length  of  several  feet. 
The  most  prominent  varieties  are  Mammoth,  Ito  San,  Medium 
Yellow,  Hollybrook,  and  Wilson. 

498.  Importance.  The  soy  bean  does  not  yet  occupy 
a  very  prominent  place  in  the  United  States,  though  its 
importance  is  increasing  rapidly.  In  China  and  Japan  it  is 
one  of  the  most  important  crops  for  the  production  of  grain 
and  oil.  As  the  plant  is  less  easily  injured  by  frost  than  the 
cowpea,  it  can  be  grown  farther  north.  It  is  most  useful 
along  the  northern  border  of  the  section  where  cowpeas  are 
grown,  from  Kansas,  Kentucky,  and  Maryland  northward. 
The  soy  bean  grows  very  well  on  poor  and  sandy  lands,  and 
is  sure  to  become  as  important  for  the  building  up  of  poor 
soils  and  for  forage  in  this  region  as  the  cowpea  now  is 
farther  south. 


GROWING  SOY  BEANS 


375 


499.  Growing  the  Crop.  The  methods  of  growing  soy 
beans  differ  httle  from  those  in  use  in  the  cultivation  of  the 
cowpea  crop.  The  plants  are  more  often  grown  in  rows  and 
cultivated,  as  the  crop  is  generally  gro^vn  for  the  production 
of  seed  as  well  as  forage.  The 
preparation  of  the  soil  should  be 
thorough.  Little  fertiUzation  is 
necessary,  for  the  plants  grow  w^ell 
on  poor  land  and  are  able  to  ob- 
tain their  supply  of  nitrogen  from 
the  air.  Soy  beans  grow  better 
on  sandy  or  loam  soils  than  on 
heavy  clay.  Inoculation  with  the 
proper  bacteria  is  necessary  for 
the  best  success  in  new  districts. 
The  tubercles  of  the  soy  bean  are 
large,  and  they  store  up  consider- 
able nitrogen  in  the  soil  when  the 
plant  is  grown  under  proper  con- 
ditions. 

When  the  crop  is  to  be  culti- 
vated, the  rows  should  be  from 
2H  to  3  feet  apart.  As  the  plants 
stand  upright,  they  can  be  culti- 
vated longer  than  cowpeas.    Three 

or  four  cultivations  are  usually  sufficient,  though  the  number 
depends  on  the  soil  and  the  season.  Seed  should  not  be 
sown  till  after  danger  of  frost  is  past.  It  may  be  sown  up  to 
July  1  in  the  Central  states,  and  three  or  four  weeks  later 
farther  south.  The  rate  of  planting  varies  from  1^  to  2 
pecks  in  rows  to  4  pecks  when  sown  broadcast. 

500.  Harvesting.  The  methods  of  harvesting  differ 
but  little  from  those  described  for  the  cowpea.  The  plants 
should  not  be  allowed  to  get  too  dry  in  the  swath,  or  there 
will  be  considerable  loss  of  seed  and  leaves.     As  the  seed 


Figure  127. — Soy  bean  plant. 
Note  the  nodules  on  the 
roots. 


376  FIELD  CROPS 

shatters  readily,  it  must  be  cut  before  all  the  pods  mature, 
else  much  of  it  will  be  lost.  Small  plats  may  be  pulled  by 
hand  and  the  seed  beaten  out  with  a  flail.  Larger  fields 
may  be  threshed  with  the  ordinary  threshing  machine  or 
with  the  special  bean  thresher.  The  seed  should  not  be 
stored  in  large  quantities  without  plenty  of  ventilation,  for 
it  is  likely  to  heat,  thus  lowering  the  germination. 

501.  Uses  of  the  Plant.  The  uses  of  the  soy  bean  are 
more  numerous  than  those  of  the  cowpea.  As  the  plants 
grow  erect,  they  are  easily  harvested  for  hay.  They  are 
sometimes  sown  with  sorghum,  cowpeas,  or  other  crops  for 
the  production  of  mixed  hay  or  silage.  The  feeding  value 
of  the  hay  is  about  the  same  as  cowpea  hay,  though  stock 
do  not  eat  the  stems  and  pods  as  readily.  As  pasture,  they 
are  hardly  so  good  as  cowpeas.  The  grain  is  very  rich  in  oil 
and  protein,  but  contains  little  starch.  In  combination  with 
corn,  they  produce  very  economical  gains  when  fed  to  cattle 
and  hogs.  As  the  seeds  are  hard  and  not  easily  crushed  by 
stock,  they  are  usually  ground  and  fed  as  meal.  In  China 
and  Japan,  the  seed  of  the  soy  bean  is  an  important  article 
of  human  food,  and  is  also  used  in  the  manufacture  of  oil. 
Soy  beans  are  now  being  used  as  baked  beans,  either  alone 
or  in  combination  with  navy  beans,  and  are  coming  into  use 
as  human  food  in  the  United  States  in  many  other  ways. 
Before  many  years,  they  are  Ukely  to  become  a  common 
article,  in  our  diet  and  their  cultivation  is  certain  to  increase 
immensely,  for  the  uses  of  this  plant  as  oil,  food  and  forage 
are  very  numerous. 

THE  PEANUT 

502.  The  Peanut,  Arachis  hypogea,  differs  from  the  other 
members  of  this  family  which  are  commonly  cultivated  in 
that  the  seed  pods  are  produced  below  the  surface  of  the 
ground.  The  peanut  is  believed  to  be  a  native  of  tropical 
South  America.     It  is  one  of  the  few  leguminous  plants 


IMPORTANCE  OF  PEANUTS  377 

native  to  the  New  World  which  have  found  their  way  into 
cultivation.  The  plant  produces  many  leafy  stems,  from  12 
to  18  inches  tall.  The  leaflets  are  three  in  number  and  about 
1  inch  long.  The  flowers,  which  are  produced  in  the  axils  of 
the  branches,  are  small  and  yellow.  After  the  flower  falls 
away,  the  stem  on  which  it  grew  elongates  and  enters  the 
soil,  and  the  pod  or  nut  then  forms  below  the  surface.  For 
this  reason,  peanuts  can  be  grown  best  on  loose  soils. 

503.  Importance.  While  we  ordinarily  think  of  peanuts 
only  as  we  commonly  see  the  roasted  nuts  for  sale  on  the 
street  corners,  the  seed  is  largely  used  in  the  manufacture 
of  oil  and  other  articles,  and  the  vines  make  excellent  forage 
for  stock.  The  value  of  the  peanut  crop  of  the  United  States 
in  1917  was  estimated  at  $106,000,000,  more  than  double 
the  combined  values  of  the  buckwheat  and  flaxseed  crops 
that  year.  It  is  largely  produced  along  the  Atlantic  coast, 
the  sandy  lands  there  being  particularly  adapted  to  it. 
The  larger  portion  of  the  market  crop  is  grown  in  Virginia, 
North  Carolina,  Georgia,  Alabama,  and  Texas.  In  recent 
years,  the  production  of  peanuts  has  very  greatly  increased, 
the  acreage  in  1917  probably  being  at  least  three  times  as 
great  as  that  in  1912. 

504.  Cultivation.  Peanuts  grow  best  in  a  fairly  fertile 
sandy  loam  soil  which  has  been  well  prepared.  They  should 
be  planted  in  rows  30  to  36  inches  apart  after  the  soil  is 
thoroughly  warm  in  the  spring,  generally  after  corn  has  been 
planted.  The  seed  of  the  larger  varieties  is  usually  shelled 
before  planting,  but  the  Spanish  peanuts  are  often  planted 
without  shelling.  The  one-row  planter  is  commonly  used. 
The  common  rate  of  seeding  is  1  peck  of  shelled  Spanish 
peanuts  or  5  pecks  in  the  shell,  while  IJ^  pecks  of  shelled 
Virginia  peanuts  will  plant  an  acre.  After  the  plants  are  up, 
frequent  shallow  cultivation  should  be  given  to  keep  the  soil 
loose  till  the  pods  begin  to  form.  The  ground  should  not  be 
disturbed  again  till  harvest. 


378 


FIELD  CROPS 


505.  Harvesting.  When  the  greater  part  of  the  nuts  is 
mature,  the  crop  should  be  harvested;  for,  if  left  longer,  the 
nuts  which  ripened  first  are  hkely  to  sprout.  The  plants  are 
usually  dug  with  a  potato  digger  or  are  plowed  out,  though 


Figure  _12S. — The  \irginia  peanut,  the  type  usually  grown  for  the  nuts.     The 
Spanish  peanut,  which  produces  numerous  small  nuts,  is  grown  for  forage. 


small  areas  on  loose  soil  can  be  pulled  by  hand  with  little 
loss.  After  the  vines  are  pulled,  they  are  left  to  diy  slightly 
and  are  then  put  in  small  stacks  to  cure.  These  stacks  are 
usually  built  around  a  framework  which  admits  air  to  all 
portions  of  the  stack.  The  top  should  be  covered  to  prevent 
injury  from  rain,  as  the  market  value  of  the  nuts  is  re- 
duced if  they  are  discolored. 

After  the  vines  are  cured,  the  nuts  are  picked  off  by  hand 
or  removed  by  machinery,  and  are  then  cleaned  and  sorted. 


THE  FIELD  PEA  379 

The  marketable  nuts  are  put  into  large  sacks  for  the  market, 
while  the  smaller  nuts  are  fed  to  hogs  or  other  stock.  The 
vines  from  which  the  nuts  have  been  picked  are  of  con- 
siderable value  as  forage. 

506.  Uses  of  the  Nuts.  By  far  the  greater  part  of  the 
market  crop  of  peanuts  is  used  in  the  production  of  peanut 
oil,  peanut  butter,  and  other  similar  food  products,  salted 
peanuts,  and  various  peanut  candies,  though  the  quantity 
of  roasted  nuts  consumed  each  year  is  considerable.  The  nuts 
are  also  fed  to  stock,  particularly  to  hogs.  The  Spanish 
variety  is  often  planted  in  the  South  for  hog  pasture, 
the  hogs  being  turned  in  when  the  pods  are  mature  and 
allowed  to  root  out  the  nuts.  As  both  the  vines  and  nuts 
are  eaten,  this  is  a  very  economical  method  of  producing 
pork.  The  peanut  vines,  especially  if  the  nuts  have  not 
been  removed,  are  very  valuable  as  forage,  and  considerable 
acreages  are  grown  in  the  South  every  year  for  this  purpose. 

THE  FIELD  PEA 

507.  Origin  and  Description.  The  field  pea,  or  Canadian 
field  pea,  Pisum  arvense,  is  a  native  of  the  region  north  of 
the  Mediterranean  Sea,  and  the  latter  name  has  been  given  to 
it  simply  because  the  plant  is  of  more  importance  in  Canada 
than  elsewhere  in  America.  It  differs  little  in  appearance 
from  the  common  garden  pea,  except  that  the  vines  are 
larger  and  more  vigorous  than  those  of  most  varieties  of 
the  garden  pea,  and  the  flowers  are  usually  pale  purple  or 
violet  instead  of  white.  The  vines  reach  a  length  of  several 
feet  and  some  varieties  l)ranch  quite  freely.  The  pods, 
which  are  long  and  straight,  contain  several  white  or  blue  peas. 

508.  Importance  of  the  Crop.  Field  peas  are  mostly 
grown  in  the  states  on  the  Canadian  border  and  in  Colorado. 
One  of  the  most  important  districts  is  the  San  Luis  Valley 
in  the  latter  state.  In  Ontario  and  other  portions  of  Canada 
the  field  pea  is  much  more  generally  grown  than  in  the  United 


380 


FIELD  CROPS 


States.  In  the  Northern  states  and  in  Canada,  peas  are 
usually  grown  in  combination  with  oats  or  barley  for  hay, 
though  they  are  also  grown  alone  for  the  seed. 

509.  Methods  of  Growing.  The  usual  method  of  growing 
peas  is  to  sow  from  1  to  2  bushels  of  seed  to  the  acre  with 
a  bushel  of  barley  or  oats,  the  grain  furnishing  a  support  for 

the  pea  vines  and  making  them 
easier  to  harvest.  The  growth  of 
peas  is  also  better  and  they  are 
less  troubled  with  such  diseases  as 
mildew  when  they  have  some  sup- 
port. The  seed  is  drilled  in  on 
well-prepared  land  as  early  in  the 
spring  as  the  ground  can  be  worked. 
As  the  seed  is  much  larger  than 
that  of  the  grains,  it  can  be  sown 
more  satisfactorily  separately  than 
in  a  mixture,  and  the  grain  can 
be  added  by  going  over  the  field 
a  second  time.  The  common  prac- 
tice, however,  is  to  sow  the  two  at 
one  operation.  The  use  of  the 
grain  drill  is  desirable  in  order  to 
get  the  seed  covered  to  the  proper 

depth.     After  the  seed   is  sown,  no  further  treatment  is 

required  until  harvest  time. 

510.  Making  and  Feeding  the  Hay.  Field  peas  should 
be  cut  for  hay  when  the  pods  are  filling  but  before  any  of 
them  are  ripe.  At  this  time  the  grain  with  which  they  are 
sown  should  also  be  in  the  proper  stage  for  hay.  The  crop 
can  be  cut  with  the  ordinary  mower  or  with  a  mower  with 
buncher  attachment.  Curing  in  the  cock  is  preferable  to 
long  curing  in  the  swath,  for  raking  after  the  pods  are  dry 
is  likely  to  result  in  the  loss  of  much  of  the  seed.  The  curing 
of  the  hay  is  not  different  from  that  of  similar  hay  crops. 


Figure  129. — Branch  of  field  pea 
with  pods  and  flowers. 


THE  FIELD  BEAN  381 

The  hay  can  be  fed  to  stock  of  all  kinds.  In  the  San  Luis 
Valley  in  Colorado,  it  is  very  largely  used  in  the  feeding  of 
sheep.  Grain  and  pea  hay  is  excellent  for  dairy  cows  and 
for  young,  growing  stock.  Its  feeding  value  depends  to  some 
extent  on  the  proportion  of  peas  and  of  grain,  but  it  is  richer 
than  grain  hay  alone.  Pea  vines  are  about  equal  in  feeding 
value  to  clover  hay. 

511.  Other  Uses  of  Field  Peas.  Peas  and  oats  or  peas 
and  barley  make  excellent  pasture  for  cattle,  sheep  and  hogs, 
particularly  if  the  stock  is  not  turned  in  until  the  plants  are 
nearly  mature.  Hogs  and  sheep  will  make  large  gains  and 
there  will  be  little  waste  if  the  crop  is  allowed  to  mature 
before  the  stock  is  pastured  on  it.  This  combination  crop 
is  sometimes  put  into  the  silo,  and  silage  of  high  feeding  value 
is  produced.  As  a  soiling  crop,  peas  and  grain  have  no 
superior  for  early  feeding  in  the  northern  part  of  the  United 
States.  As  the  plants  make  a  large  volume  of  organic  mat- 
ter rich  in  nitrogen,  they  are  excellent  soil  improvers  when 
turned  under  as  green  manure.  The  grain  may  be  fed  whole 
to  sheep  or  hogs  or  may  be  ground  into  meal.  For  hogs, 
grinding  is  advisable. 

THE  FIELD  BEAN 

512.  The  white,  or  navy,  varieties  of  the  common  garden 
bean,  Phaseolus  vulgaris,  are  grown  under  field  conditions 
for  the  production  of  dried  beans  in  some  localities,  more 
particularly  in  Michigan,  New  York,  and  California.  It 
is  estimated  that  the  bean  crop  of  1917  was  worth  more  than 
$100,000,000.  The  usual  method  is  to  plant  in  rows  from 
30  to  36  inches  apart,  after  the  ground  is  warm  in  the  spring, 
and  give  good  cultivation  during  the  growing  season.  Beans 
should  not  be  cultivated  when  the  leaves  are  wet  with  rain 
or  dew,  for  they  are  much  more  likely  to  become  diseased  if 
disturbed  when  damp.  The  rate  of  seeding  depends  on  the 
size  of  the  beans,  }/2  bushel  to  the  acre  being  sufficient  for 


382  FIELD  CROPS 

the  navy  or  pea  beans,  while  as  much  as  a  bushel  of  some  of 
the  larger  kinds  is  required. 

When  the  beans  are  ripe,  they  are  harvested  with  the 
bean  harvester,  an  implement  which  runs  just  beneath  the 
surface  and  cuts  the  stems  and  roots,  so  that  the  plants  may 
be  gathered  readily,  free  from  earth  and  roots.  If  the  vines 
are  practically  dead  when  harvested,  they  may  be  placed  at 
once  in  well-built  cocks,  but  if  there  are  some  green  pods  and 
leaves,  they  should  be  dried  for  a  few  hours  before  bunching. 
These  cocks  are  usually  built  around  a  pole  about  5  feet  high, 
sharpened  at  both  ends.  One  end  is  stuck  firmly  in  the 
ground  and  a  bunch  of  grass  or  weeds  is  fastened  to  the 
other  after  the  cock  is  completed,  to  serve  as  protection  from 
rains.  As  soon  as  the  vines  are  dry,  they  should  be  removed 
carefully  to  the  barn,  where  the  beans  may  be  flailed  or 
threshed  out.  The  modern  bean  thresher  removes  the  beans 
much  more  quickly  and  cheaply  than  the  flail.  After  the 
beans  are  threshed,  they  should  be  cleaned  and  graded,  and 
the  good  beans  placed  in  sacks  for  marketing.  The  cull 
beans  may  then  be  used  as  feed  for  stock,  while  the  market- 
able beans  are  an  important  article  of  human  diet. 

SWEET  CLOVER 

513.  Description.  The  white  sweet  clover,  Melilotus 
alba,  is  a  common  roadside  plant  growing  quite  generally 
over  the  United  States.  It  is  a  native  of  Europe,  but  is 
widely  naturalized  in  America.  It  closely  resembles  alfalfa 
in  habit  of  growth,  but  is  biennial,  and  the  flowers  are  small, 
numerous,  and  produced  in  long  spikes. 

514.  Importance.  Sweet  clover  is  not  generally  culti- 
vated, though  in  some  sections  it  is  grown  as  a  forage  crop 
and  soil  renovator.  Its  principal  use  is  for  the  latter  pur- 
pose, as  stock  do  not  usually  eat  it  readily,  and  unless  cut 
early  for  hay  the  stems  are  coarse  and  woody.  The  feeding 
value  of  sweet  clover  is  nearly  the  same  as  that  of  alfalfa, 


CULTURE  OF  SWEET  CLOVER 


383 


but  its  lack  of  palatability  makes  it  much  less  valuable  in 
actual  practice.  Cattle  and  hogs  however,  will  become  ac- 
customed to  the  taste.  The  young  plants  are  less  bitter 
and  may  well  be  used  for  pasture. 

515.  Culture.  When  it  is  desired  to  grow  sweet  clover  on 
poor  soil  to  improve  it,  the  seed  is  sown  in  the  spring  at  the 
rate  of  about  15  pounds  to  the  acre,  and  har- 
rowed in.  In  the  South,  it  can  be  sown  after 
an  early  crop  is  harvested.  If  the  plants  are 
plowed  under  the  following  spring  before  blos- 
soming, there  will  be  no  difficulty  in  eradicat- 
ing it,  but  if  it  is  allowed  to  seed  it  is  likely  to 
give  trouble.  The  seed  is  so  like  that  of  al- 
falfa, that  it  sometimes  is  used  as  an  adul- 
terant. 

The  same  soils  on  which  sweet  clover 
thrives  are  usually  adapted  to  alfalfa,  and  as 
the  same  bacterium  lives  on  the  roots  of  both 
plants,  land  on  which  sweet  clover  grows  ordi- 
narily does  not  require  inoculation  to  produce 
alfalfa.  Sweet  clover,  however,  will  grow  on 
soils  and  in  climates  where  alfalfa  will  not 
succeed. 

Failure  to  secure  a  good  crop,  when  culti- 
vated, may  be  the  result  of  poor  seed.  The  germinating 
power  of  the  seed  should  always  be  tested.  On  account  of 
its  hard  coat  much  of  the  seed  fails  to  germinate  the  first 
season.  This  plant  also  requires  a  firm  soil.  Of  course  the 
soil  should  be  tested  for  lime.  Sweet  clover  may  be  sown 
broadcast  on  rough  or  stony  land,  that  is  practically  un- 
tillable.     It  may  also  be  grown  along  river  bottoms. 

This  crop  should  be  pastured  or  cut  down  sufficiently  to 
insure  an  abundance  of  fresh  shoots  for  grazing.  When 
harvested  it  may  be  cut  with  a  binder  and  shocked,  or  with 
a  mower  and  stacked.     Where  more  than  one  crop  is  ex- 


Figure  130. — 

Sweet  clover. 


384 


FIELD  CROPS 


pected  the  first  should  be  cut  when  it  is  about  30  inches 
high  and  before  the  flower  buds  have  formed.  A  stubble 
of  4  or  5  inches  should  be  left. 

The  delicate  part  of  curing  is  to  prevent  the  leaves  from 

shattering.  One  should  follow 
the  general  directions  given  for 
other  clovers  and  alfalfa. 

Sweet  clover  as  a  silage 
crop    has    been    satisfactory. 

THE  BUR  CLOVERS 

i  516.  The   bur  clovers  are 

closely  related  to  alfalfa,  be- 
longing to  the  same  genus, 
Medicago,  but  are  annual  in- 
stead of  perennial.  They  are 
low-growing  plants  with  yellow 
flowers  and  prickly  pods.  The 
common  species  are  Medicago 
maculata,  or  spotted  medic, 
and  Medicago  denticulata,  or 
toothed  medic.  Both  species 
grow  in  the  South,  though  the 
spotted  medic  is  more  com- 
mon. The  toothed  medic  is 
grown  in  California.' 
517.  Use  as  Winter  Pasture.  A  common  practice  in  the 
South  is  to  sow  bur  clover  on  Bermuda  grass  pasture  in  the 
fall.  About  the  tune  the  Bermuda  grass  is  killed  by  frost, 
the  bur  clover  begins  to  grow;  in  mild  seasons  it  grows 
throughout  the  winter.  It  furnishes  good  pasture  during  the 
late  fall  and  early  spring  months  and,  if  allowed  to  produce 
seed,  will  reseed  itself.  In  this  way,  a  permanent  pasture 
is  assured.  As  the  bur  clover  adds  nitrogen  to  the  soil,  the 
growth  becomes  heavier  from  year  to  year. 


Figure  131.— White  Sweet  Clover 
plant  six  weeks  old.  Note  the 
extensive  root  system  already  de- 
veloped.     (F.  B..797; 


JAPAN  CLOVER  385 

518.  Use  as  Green  Manure.  Bur  clover  is  also  sown  in 
cotton  or  other  cultivated  fields  in  the  fall  and  plowed  under 
the  following  spring  as  a  green  manure  crop.  About  15 
pounds  of  clean  seed  or  40  to  60  pounds  of  seed  in  the  bur  is 
sown  to  the  acre.  If  it  is  not  plowed  under  the  following 
spring  till  seed  is  produced,  it  mil  not  be  necessary  to  reseed 
it  in  the  fall. 

JAPAN  CLOVER 

519.  Japan  clover,  or  lespedeza,  Lespedeza  striata,  is  a 
native  of  Japan  which  is  now  commonly  found  on  sandy  soils 
from  Virginia  to  Texas.  It  is  not  usually  sown,  but,  like  blue 
grass  and  white  clover  in  the  regions  farther  north,  it  comes 
in  and  fills  up  the  waste  places.  While  the  plant  ordinarily 
grows  only  a  few  inches  high,  on  good  soil  it  reaches  a  height 
of  from  15  to  18  inches,  and  is  a  promising  hay  plant.  Its 
chief  value  is  as  gatherer  of  nitrogen  on  poor  soil,  and  as  a 
pasture  crop.  It  is  an  excellent  addition  to  Bermuda  pas- 
tures, for  it  grows  well  with  Bermuda  or  other  grasses.  As  it 
soon  starts  into  growth  again  when  grazed  off,  the  quantity 
of  feed  it  will  produce  during  a  season  is  surprising.  In 
pastures  it  will  usually  reseed  itself.  On  richer  lands  where 
it  is  thick  and.  tall  enough  to  be  cut  for  hay,  some  provision 
should  be  made  for  reseeding.  Uncut  strips  should  be  left 
across  the  field  or  the  first  crop  should  be  cut  early  enough 
to  allow  the  second  growth  to  mature  seed  before  frost. 

It  is  not  usually  necessary  to  sow  lespedeza  seed  in  pas- 
tures. To  introduce  this  plant  or  to  sow  it  on  cultivated 
land  for  hay  or  as  a  renovating  crop,  15  to  25  pounds  of  seed 
should  be  sown  in  the  early  spring  and  harrowed  in.  •  Most 
of  the  seed  is  now  produced  in  Louisiana  and  Mississippi. 

THE  VETCHES 

520.  Description.  Though  several  species  of  vetch  are 
grown  in  various  parts  of  the  country,  the  most  common  is 


386 


FIELD  CROPS 


the  winter,  or  hairy  vetch,  Vicia  villosa.  This  is  sown  in  the 
late  summer  or  early  fall  as  a  cover  crop  in  orchards  or  m 
combination  with  fall  grain  as  a  forage  crop  for  hay  or  for 
soiling.  The  vetch  plant  produces  a  trailing  vine  several  feet 
in  length,  with  numerous  pinnate  leaves  consisting  of  eight  to 
fourteen  small  leaflets.  The  bluish-purple  flowers  are  pro- 
duced in  racemes  in  the  axils  of  the 
leaves.  The  pods  are  straight,  about 
l}^  inches  long,  and  contain  several 
brown  or  black  weeds. 

521.  Culture  and  Uses.  When 
sown  for  hay  or  as  a  winter  cover 
crop  and  soil  improver,  from  1  to  IJ^ 
bushels  of  vetch  seed  are  required  for 
an  acre.  Oats  or  beardless  wheat  are 
good  grains  to  grow  with  vetch  for 
ha}^,  while  as  a  cover  crop  or  green 
manure  there  is  nothing  better  than 
rye.  The  time  to  cut  for  hay  depends 
more  on  the  grain  than  on  the  vetch, 
for  it  continues  to  grow  and  produces 
seed  over  a  considerable  period.  Vetch  is  sometimes  sown 
in  the  fall  on  Johnson  grass  sod  and  cut  the  following  sum- 
mer for  ha3^  By  the  time  the  Johnson  grass  is  ready  to  cut 
the  vetch  will  have  reseeded  itself  sufficiently'  to  produce 
another  crop  the  following  fall. 

The  greatest  usefulness  of  winter  vetch  is  in  the  South 
as  a  cover  crop  and  soil  improver  on  poor  lands,  though  its 
best  growth  is  on  fertile  soils.  In  the  Central  and  Northern 
states  it  must  be  sown  in  late  summer  or  early  fall  to  prevent 
winterkilling.  As  cultivation  of  orchards  generally  stops 
about  that  time,  this  plant  works  in  well  as  a  cover  crop  to 
add  nitrogen.  For  the  best  growth  of  the  orchard,  it  should 
be  plowed  under  early  the  following  spring,  for  if  left  to  pro- 
duce seed  it  will  take  moisture  and  plant  food  from  the  trees 


Figure  132. — Hairy  vetch. 


THE  VELVET  BEAN 


387 


THE  VELVET  BEAN 


522.  The  velvet  bean,  Stizolohium  deeringianum,  is  a 
semitropical  plant  which  thrives  along  the  Gulf  Coast  and 
in  Florida.  There  it  is  an  important  forage  plant  and  soil 
renovator,  as  it  makes  a  very  heavy  growth  and  produces 
numerous  nitrogen-gathering  tubercles.  The  vines  often 
grow  to  a  length  of  30 
feet  or  more.  The 
flowers  are  in  clusters, 
purple  in  color,  and  are 
followed  by  short  pods 
which  are  covered  with 
black  fuzz,  or  down. 
Each  pod  contains 
several  mottled  white 
and  brown  seeds  about 
the  size  of  a  common 
garden  bean.  The 
greatest  value  of  the 
velvet  bean  is  as  a 
producer  of  vegetable 

matter  rich  in  nitrogen.  The  long,  tangled  vines  make  it 
rather  difficult  to  harvest  for  forage.  It  will  produce  good 
sized  vines  as  far  north  as  Virginia  and  Kentucky,  but 
does  not  produce  seed  except  in  the  Gulf  states.  In  re- 
cent years,  however,  two  early  varieties,  the  Georgia  and 
the  Alabama,  have  been  produced,  which  mature  seed 
almost  anywhere  in  tho  Gulf  states.  These  are  now  ex- 
tensively grown,  the  area  in  velvet  beans  in  1917  being  esti- 
mated as  4,619,000  acres. 


Figure    133. — Velvet  bean  leaves,    flowers    and 
green  and  mature  pods. 


LABORATORY  AND  FIELD  EXERCISES 


The  pupils  should  become  familiar  with  as  many  of  the  plants 
discussed  in  this  chapter  as  possible.  Most  of  them  can  be  grown  to  .it 
least  a  partial  state  of  maturity  almost  anyw^here  in  the  United  States, 


388  FIELD  CROPi^ 

and  at  least  a  few  plants  of  each  (with  the  possible  exceptions  of  the 
velvet  bean  and  bur  clover  in  the  North)  may  well  be  grown  on  the 
school  farm.  They  can  be  utilized  as  illustrative  material  in  the  fresh 
state  in  the  field  or  dried  and  used  in  the  laboratory  at  any  season  of 
the  year.  For  growing  in  the  northern  portion  of  the  United  States, 
early  varieties  of  cowpeas  like  New  Era  and  of  soy  beans  like  Ito  San 
should  be  selected. 

REFERENCES 

Cyclopedia  of  American  Agriculture,  Vol.  II,  Bailey. 

Farm  Crops,  Burkett. 

Forage  and  Fiber  Crops  in  America,  Hunt. 

Field  Crop  Production,  Livingston. 

Productive  Farm  Crops,  Montgomery'. 

Forage  Crops  and  Their  Culture,  Piper. 

The  Peanut  and  Its  Culture,  Roper. 

Peas  and  Pea  Culture,  Sevey. 

Clovers  and  How  to  Grow  Them,  Shaw. 

Forage  Crops,  Shaw. 

Forage  Crops,  Voorhees. 

Meadows  and  Pastures,  Wing. 

Farmers'  Bulletins: 

278.  Legimainous  Crops  for  Green  Manuring. 

289.  Beans. 

318.  Cowpeas. 

372.  Soy  Beans. 

431.  Peanuts. 

441.  Lespedeza,  or  Japan  Clover. 

515.  Vetches. 

529.  Vetch  Growing  in  the  South  Atlantic  States. 

690.  The  Field  Pea. 

693.  Bur  Clover. 

886.  Harvesting  Soy  Bean  Seed. 

797.  Sweet  Clover:     Growing  the  Cro]). 

820.  Sweet  Clover:     UtiUzation. 

836.  Sweet  Clover:    Harvesting  and  Thi-eahing  the  Seed  Crop, 


CHAPTER  XXI 
ROOT  CROPS 

523.  Introduction.  For  convenience,  all  those  forage 
crops  which  are  not  included  among  the  grasses  and  legumes 
are  grouped  under  the  class  name  of  root  crops,  though  not 
all  are  grown  for  their  roots.  Practically  all  these  plants  are 
biennials  which  during  their  first  season's  growth  store  up 
food  in  their  roots  or  stems  to  supply  nourishment  to  the 
fruiting  stem  the  following  season.  Such  plants  as  beets, 
mangels,  turnips,  rutabagas  and  carrots  are  grown  for  their 
fleshy  roots,  which  are  really  a  thickening  of  the  base  of  the 
stem  and  the  top  of  the  taproot.  The  head  of  cabbage  is 
a  mass  of  leaves  closely  folded  together,  while  kohl-rabi  is  an 
enlargement  of  the  stem  rather  than  of  the  root.  Rape  and 
kale  are  closely  related  to  the  cabbage,  but  do  not  produce 
heads.  The  area  in  "root  forage"  for  the  entire  United 
States  in  1909  was  less  than  19,000  acres,  with  a  total  pro- 
duction of  254,500  tons.  This  includes  only  mangels,  turnips, 
rutabagas  and  carrots.  These  root  crops  are  produced  most 
largely  in  Maine,  New  York,  Michigan,  Wisconsin,  Minne- 
sota, Washington,  and  Oregon. 

THE  BEET 

524.  Classes.  The  beet.  Beta  vulgaris,  has  been  de- 
veloped into  four  distinct  types,  in  each  of  which  there  are 
many  varieties.  These  are  (1)  the  chard,  grown  for  its 
thick  leaf  stalks,  which  are  used  as  gTeens;  (2)  the  garden 
beet,  grown  for  its  edible  roots;  (3)  the  sugar  beet,  grown  for 
the  production  of  sugar;  and  (4)  the  mangel  or  mangel-wurzel, 
for  feeding  to  stock.  We  are  here  concerned  only  with  the 
latter  type.  The  sugar  beet  will  be  discussed  in  Chapter  XXIII 

389 


390  FIELD  CROPS 

626.  The  Mangel  and  the  Sugar  Beet.  The  mangel 
differs  from  the  sugar  beet  in  many  characters.  The  root 
of  the  sugar  beet  is  fairly  uniform  in  shape,  being  largest 
near  the  crown  and  tapering  gradually  to  a  long  taproot, 
while  that  of  the  mangel  is  of  various  shapes  in  the  many 
varieties.  The  flesh  of  the  sugar  beet  is  white,  while  that  of 
the  mangel  is  usually  reddish  or  yellow.  The  skin  of  the 
sugar  beet  is  also  white;  the  mangel  may  be  red,  white,  gold- 
en, purplish,  or  even  black.  The  sugar  beet  grows  almost 
entirely  below  the  surface  of  the  ground,  while  in  many 
varieties  of  mangel  half  or  more  of  the  root  is  above  the  sur- 
face, making  it  much  easier  to  harvest.  Well-grown  sugar 
beets  weigh  from  1  to  1}^^  pounds;  mangels  should  weigh 
from  4  to  6  pounds.  The  sugar  beet  contains  about  20  per 
cent  of  solids,  of  which  about  four  fifths  is  sugar;  the  mangel 
contains  only  about  12  per  cent  of  solids  and  not  more  than 
6  per  cent  of  sugar. 

526.  The  Soil  and  Its  Preparation.  The  best  soil  for 
beets  is  a  rich  loam  or  sandy  loam.  The  roots  do  not  develop 
well  in  clay  soils  and  are  more  difficult  to  harvest,  while  veiy 
sandy  soils  do  not  retain  sufficient  moisture.  Conditions 
are  usually  more  favorable  in  the  Northern  states  than  else- 
where for  the  growth  of  mangels.  Good  preparation  is 
essential  to  the  profitable  growth  of  the  crop.  The  seeds  are 
somewhat  slow  to  germinate  and  the  plants  grow  slowly  at 
first,  so  that  eveiy  precaution  should  be  taken  to  keep  down 
weeds.  Thej^  can  best  be  prevented  by  planning  a  rotation 
which  contains  crops  which  aid  in  the  control  of  these  pests. 
One  which  has  been  successfully  used  in  some  sections  con- 
sists of  (1)  corn,  (2)  barley,  and  (3)  mangels  or  some  other 
root  crop.  The  land  is  manured  for  the  com.  This  crop 
may  be  fed  off  by  hogs,  if  desired,  as  it  will  then  be  practically 
returned  to  the  land.  The  cultivation  of  the  corn  crop  and 
the  rapid  growth  and  early  maturity  of  the  barley  all  aid  in 
subduing  A\eeds.     After  the  barley  is  harvested,  the  land  is 


fiEEDING  BEETS! 


301 


plowed  and  then  harrowed  at  intervals  during  the  fall  to  kill 
any  weeds  that  appear.  The  easy  preparation  of  a  good 
seed  bed  free  from  weeds  is  thus  insured  for  the  beets  which 
may  be  grown  the  following  spring. 

The  usual  preparation  for  beets,  whether  or  not  the  rota- 


mm 

m^^ 

P^^IP-^^ 

'p:^  •^"^^:3 

Figure  134. — Mangels  produce  a  heavy  yield  to    the  acre  and   supply  a  large 
quantity  of  succulent  feed  for  dairy  cows  and  other  stock 


tion  just  given  is  followed,  is  to  plow  the  land  in  the  fall  and 
disk  it  deeply  and  thoroughly  in  the  spring.  From  four  to 
six  harrowings  and  diskings  are  usually  required  to  put  it  in 
proper  condition  for  seeding.  The  land  should  be  fertile.  If 
it  has  not  been  manured  for  a  previous  crop,  the  application 
of  a  good  supply  of  well-rotted  manure  is  beneficial.  Fresh 
manure  should  not  be  used,  as  it  is  likely  to  contain  many 
weed  seeds. 

527.  Seeding.  The  seed  of  the  beet  is  produced  in 
''balls,"  or  "bolts,"  which  contain  from  one  to  five  seeds. 
For  this  reason,  it  is  impossible  to  regulate  the  rate  of  seeding 
perfectly,  and  hand  thinning  must  be  practiced  to  obtain  a 


392  FIELD  CROPS 

imiform  stand.  The  seed  may  be  sown  with  a  one-row  drill, 
though  where  roots  are  grown  in  any  quantity  the  use  of  a 
drill  which  sows  several  rows  at  a  time  is  desirable.  Mangels 
are  usually  planted  in  rows  ranging  from  28  to  36  inches 
apart;  the  rate  of  seeding  is  from  6  to  8  pounds  to  the  acre. 
The  seed  is  covered  about  1  inch  deep,  or  de(^per  if  necessary, 
to  insure  moisture  for  germination.  Seeding  should  be  done 
as  soon  as  the  ground  is  in  good  condition,  which  is  about  the 
first  of  May  in  the  Northern  states,  though  on  heavy  soils  it 
may  have  to  be  delayed  till  about  May  20. 

528.  Cultivation.  As  soon  as  the  rows  can  be  followed, 
the  land  should  be  cultivated.  The  best  type  of  cultivator 
is  a  four-row  one  with  knives  that  cut  just  below  the  surface 
of  the  soil.  Cultivation  should  be  repeated  every  eight  or 
ten  days  till  the  tops  meet  between  the  rows.  In  order  to 
obtain  a  perfect  stand  and  prevent  crowding,  the  plants  must 
be  thinned  to  the  proper  distance  as  soon  as  they  are  large 
enough,  which  is  about  the  time  the  fourth  or  fifth  leaf  is 
produced.  They  should  first  be  "bunched,''  cutting  out  all 
the  plants  in  the  rows  with  a  hoe  except  small  bunches  1  or 
2  inches  wide  and  10  or  12  inches  apart.  After  the  plants 
have  recovered  somewhat  from  the  "bunching,"  but  while 
they  are  still  small,  they  are  thinned  by  hand,  all  but  the 
largest  plants  in  each  bunch  being  removed.  The  single 
plants  should  then  be  about  12  inches  apart  in  the  row. 
The  bunching  and  thinning  is  slow  and  expensive  work,  and 
root  crops  are,  therefore,  not  very  popular  among  American 
farmers.  It  is  more  necessaiy  for  sugar  beets  than  for  other 
root  crops,  as  uniformity  is  more  important  in  that  crop,  and 
the  seed  is  sown  thicker  to  insure  a  full  stand.  Large  yields 
being  essential  to  the  profitable  production  of  root  crops  of 
all  kinds,  much  depends  on  the  preparation  of  the  soil,  its 
freedom  from  weeds,  and  the  care  which  is  given. 

629.  Harvesting.  Mangels  should  be  harvested  as  soon 
as  growth  stops  in  the  fall,  which  is  when  the  outer  leaves 


STORING  MANGELS  AND  BEETS  393 

begin  to  wither.  They  should  not  be  exposed  to  severe 
freezes,  though  the  first  Ught  frosts  will  not  inj  ure  them.  The 
roots  should  be  removed  from  the  ground  without  breaking 
or  bruising  them,  for  bruised  roots  soon  decay.  If  necessary, 
they  may  be  loosened  by  plowing  a  furrow  close  beside  the 
row,  or  by  a  beet  digger  run  under  the  row,  but  mangels  can 
usually  be  pulled  easily  by  hand.  The  tops  are  then  twisted 
or  cut  off  and  the  beets  thrown  into  piles  from  which  they  are 
loaded  into  wagons  and  hauled  to  the  root  cellar  or  pit  for 
storing.  The  tops  may  be  thrown  into  windrows  for  curing, 
as  they  make  excellent  feed  for  cattle,  sheep,  and  hogs.  If 
they  are  not  desired  for  feeding,  they  should  be  scattered 
over  the  field  and  plowed  under  for  fertilizer. 

530.  Storing.  Mangels  and  other  roots  should  be  stored 
as  soon  as  harvested.  For  this  purpose,  a  root  cellar  is 
desirable,  though  not  absolutely  necessary.  Good  ventilation, 
freedom  from  dampness,  and  a  temperature  just  above  the 
freezing  point  give  the  best  conditions  for  storing.  If  a 
cellar  is  not  available,  the  roots  may  be  placed  in  a  pit  and 
covered  with  alternate  layers  of  straw  and  earth,  increasing 
the  depth  of  covering  as  the  weather  becomes  colder. 

531.  Uses.  Mangels  are  used  as  a  substitute  for  corn 
and  corn  silage  in  the  North  and  in  high  altitudes  where  the 
weather  is  too  cool  for  that  crop  to  succeed.  The  dry  matter 
in  mangels  is  equal  in  feeding  value  to  the  dry  matter 
in  grain  and  is  somewhat  higher  than  that  in  silage.  It  is 
palatable  and  nutritious,  and  an  unusually  high  proportion 
of  it  is  digestible.  Mangels  are  most  commonly  fed  to 
dauy  cattle,  though  they  may  be  fed  to  sheep  and  hogs,  if 
desu'ed.  As  from  10  to  15  tons  may  readily  be  produced  to 
the  acre,  the  farmers  in  the  Northern  states  can  well  afford 
to  raise  more  mangels  and  other  root  crops. 

CARROTS 

532.  Description.  The  carrot,  Daucus  carota,  has  finely- 
divided  leaves,  flowers  and  seeds  in  a  dense  umbel,  and  roots 


394 


FIELD  CROFIS 


of  various  shapes  and  colors.  Most  varieties  taper  from  the 
crown  to  the  taproot,  though  some  are  cyUndrical  for  most 
of  their  length,  while  others  are  short  and  thick.  The  color 
of  the  flesh  and  skin  may  be  white,  yellow,  orange,  or  red. 

Carrots  are  grown  in  only  a 
limited  way  for  stock  feeding, 
mostly  for  horses.  Their  feed- 
ing value  is  about  the  same  as 
that  of  mangels. 

533.  Culture.  Carrots  grow 
best  in  a  deep  sandy  loam. 
The  seed  bed  should  be  well 
prepared  and  free  from  weeds, 
as  germination  and  early 
growth  are  slow.  The  rows 
should  be  from  24  to  30  inches 
apart  and  the  plants  about  3 
inches  apart  in  the  rows.  From 
4  to  6  pounds  of  seed  is  re- 
quired to  sow  an  acre.  The 
methods  of  planting,  thinning, 
cultivating  and  harvesting  are 
not  different  from  those  already 
given  for  mangels.  Carrots 
yield  from  10  to  25  tons  of 


Figure  135. — Carrots  for  stock  feeding. 


roots  and  3  or  4  tons  of  toi:)s  to  the  acre. 

TURNIPS  AND  RUTABAGAS 

534.  Description.  The  tm'nip  and  the  rutabaga  are 
closely  related  plants  of  the  genus  Brassica,  which  also 
includes  mustard,  rape,  and  several  of  our  garden  vegetables. 
The  rutabaga  is  Brassica  campestris;  the  turnip,  Brassica 
rapa.  The  roots  of  turnips  and  rutabagas  vaiy  from  the 
flattened  form  of  the  common  turnip  to  the  long,  cyUndrical 
^'cowhorn"  type  in  shape.,  and  from  white  to  yellow,  purple, 


TURNIPS  AND  RUTABAGAS  395 

and  red  in  color.  The  flesh  is  white  or  yellow;  it  is  usually 
white  in  tui-nips  and  yellow  in  rutabagas.  Turnips  mature 
more  quickly,  wliile  rutabagas  have  a  higher  feeding  value 
and  keep  better. 

535.  Culture.  Rutabagas  and  turnips  grow  best  in  a 
cool,  moist  cUmate  and  in  a  sandy  loam  soil.  The  prepara- 
tion of  the  soil,  seeding,  cultivation,  harvesting,  and  storing 
are  not  different  from  the  treatment  which  has  been  recom- 
mended for  mangels.  From  2  to  3  pounds  of  turnip  and  4 
to  5  pounds  of  rutabaga  seed  is  required  to  the  acre.  As 
turnips  make  their  growth  in  from  two  to  three  months,  they 
may  be  sown  in  the  late  summer  and  yet  mature  a  crop 
before  frost.  They  grow  best  in  cool  weather,  and  for  fall 
and  winter  use  should  not  be  sown  till  the  latter  part  of  July. 
Rutabagas,  on  the  other  hand,  require  from  four  to  six 
months  to  reach  maturity,  and  must  be  sown  in  May  or  June. 

536.  Uses.  Turnips  and  rutabagas  are  largely  used  in 
England  for  feeding  to  stock,  and  to  some  extent  in  Canada, 
but  they  are  seldom  grown  for  this  purpose  in  the  United 
States.  They  are  equal  in  feeding  value  to  mangels  and 
other  root  crops,  and  the  grain  ration  may  be  materially 
reduced  when  they  are  used.  Rutabagas  are  especially  good 
for  feeding  to  pigs.  As  turnips  do  not  keep  well,  they  should 
be  fed  in  the  early  fall;  rutabagas  may  be  kept  through  the 
winter  without  much  difficulty.  When  all  the  root  crops 
are  grown,  turnips  are  usually  fed  first,  being  either  pas- 
tured off  or  fed  as  soon  as  they  are  harvested;  rutabagas 
are  then  used  till  about  January  1,  after  which  mangels  are 
substituted.     Rutabagas  may  be  fed  throughout  the  winter. 

CABBAGE  AND  KOHL-RABI 

537.  Culture  and  Uses.  Cabbage  and  kohl-rabi  are  dif- 
ferent forms  of  the  same  original  plant,  Brassica  oleracea. 
In  cabbage,  the  food  material  is  stored  in  the  leaves,  which 
form  a  compact  head,  while  in  kohl-rabi  it  is  stored  in  an 


396  FIELD  CROPS 

enlargement  of  the  stem,  which  looks  like  a  rutabaga  above 
ground.  Cabbage  is  commonly  grown  as  a  garden  vegetable, 
but  is  used  to  some  extent  for  feeding  to  stock,  while  kohl-rabi 
is  not  extensively  grown  in  America  for  any  purpose.  Cab- 
bage produces  a  large  yield  of  succulent  feed,  which  is  best 
used  by  feeding  direct  from  the  field  in  the  fall.  Kohl-rabi  is 
said  to  be  more  drought-resistant  and  to  grow  in  warmer  cli- 
mates than  the  rutabaga.  These  two  are  about  equal  in  feed- 
ing value.  Kohl-rabi  should  be  sown  in  the  same  manner  as 
the  rutabaga  and  the  plants  thinned  to  about  the  same  dis- 
tance apart.  Cabbage  may  be  sown  in  the  garden  early  in 
the  spring  and  transplanted  to  the  field  in  June  by  hand  or 
with  a  transplanting  machine,  or  the  seed  may  be  sown  in 
hills  about  24  inches  apart,  dropping  three  or  four  seeds  in 
the  hill  and  later  thinning  to  a  single  plant.  The  rows  should 
be  about  3  feet  apart  and  the  plants  about  24  inches  apart  in 
the  row.     Cultivation  is  the  same  as  for  other  crops  discussed 

in  this  chapter. 

RAPE  AND  KALE 

538.  Description.  Rape,  Brassica  7tapus,  is  a  quick- 
growing,  leafy  plant  with  stems  from  2  to  4  feet  tall.  The 
leaves  grow  along  the  stem  instead  of  from  the  crown  as  in 
many  of  the  other  plants  of  this  genus.  The  variety  which 
is  commonly  grown  in  this  country  is  the  Dwarf  Essex,  a 
biennial  type  which  produces  seed  only  where  the  plants  will 
survive  the  winter.  Where  it  does  produce  seed,  however, 
the  yield  is  hea\y,  so  that  the  seed  is  cheap,  and  as  only  3  to 
5  pounds  is  required  to  the  acre,  the  expense  of  seeding  is 
small.  Kale,  or  headless  cabbage,  one  of  the  numerous 
forms  of  Brassica  oleracea,  grows  in  much  the  same  form  as 
rape,  but  has  larger  leaves  and  produces  heavier  yields  of 
forage.  It  is  grown  as  a  forage  crop  only  in  the  mild  climate 
of  western  Oregon  and  western  Washington. 

539.  Culture.  Rape  grows  best  on  rich,  moist  loam  soils. 
Its  growth  is  rapid,  hence  it  is  often  sown  broadcast,  as  it  is 


USES  OF  RAPE  397 

able  to  compete  successfully  with  weeds.  Larger  yields  are 
obtained,  however,  if  it  is  sown  in  drills  from  28  to  36  inches 
apart  and  given  frequent  cultivation  while  the  plants  are 
small.  As  the  plant  is  a  gross  feeder,  it  can  use  large  quan- 
tities of  stable  manure  or  other  fertilizers.  The  yields  from 
poor  soil  are  likely  to  be  disappointing,  but  the  quantity  of 
forage  produced  on  rich  soil  is  remarkable.  Rape  may  be 
sown  alone  at  any  time  during  the  spring  or  early  sunmier 
months,  or  with  oats  or  other  grain  in  the  spring.  When 
sown  with  grain,  not  more  than  1  or  2  pounds  of  rape  seed  to 
the  acre  should  be  used.  The  rape  usually  grows  slowly  till 
the  grain  crop  is  removed,  when  it  starts  into  rapid  growth 
and  supplies  abundant  forage.  In  wet  seasons  on  rich  soil, 
it  sometimes  makes  such  rapid  growth  that  much  of  it  is 
harvested  in  the  butts  of  the  grain  bundles,  thus  interfering 
with  their  proper  curing.  Sowing  the  rape  a  couple  of  weeks 
later  than  the  grain  usually  avoids  this  trouble,  while  the 
rape  succeeds  quite  as  well.  As  it  survives  frost  well,  it 
may  be  counted  on  for  later  pasture. 

640.  Uses.  It  is  customary  to  pasture  rape,  when  it  is 
sown  either  alone  or  with  a  grain  crop.  Occasionally,  it  is 
cut  for  soiUng,  but  it  is  never  cured  into  dry  fodder.  It  is 
most  largely  used  as  pasture  for  hogs  and  sheep.  Better 
results  are  obtained  if  stock  are  pastured  on  only  a  part  of  the 
field  at  a  time,  using  movable  fences  or  hurdles  and  changing 
the  animals  to  different  areas  as  necessary.  Otherwise,  much 
of  the  feed  is  wasted  by  the  animals'  tramping  it  into  the  soil. 
Rape  is  a  succulent,  palatable  feed,  very  similar  in  composi- 
tion to  the  best  perennial  pasture  crops,  and  as  it  produces  a 
large  quantity  of  forage  in  a  short  time,  it  should  be  more 
extensively  used.  Care  should  be  taken  to  prevent  bloating 
when  cattle  or  sheep  are  first  turned  on  it.  When  sown  with 
grain  crops  and  pastured  after  the  grain  is  harvested,  sheep 
will  put  on  flesh  rapidly,  as  they  get  the  benefit  of  the  glean- 
ings as  well  as  the  rape. 


398  FIELD  CROPS 

Kale  is  used  quite  extensively  as  a  fall  and  winter  soiling 
crop  for  dairy  cows  and  other  stock  in  Oregon  and  Washing- 
ton west  of  the  Cascade  Range.  As  the  winters  are  mild, 
it  may  be  cut  at  any  time  from  October  to  April. 

LABORATORY  AND  FIELD  EXERCISES 

L  Collect  seeds  of  garden  beets,  sugar  beets  and  mangels.  De- 
scribe the  differences  definitely.  Sprout  some  of  these  seeds  also  and 
compare  character  and  number  of  sprouts.  What  bearing  would  the 
result  of  this  observation  have  on  planting? 

2.  Compare  the  flesh,  color,  size,  and  shape  of  these  roots.  Dis- 
tinguish the  tops  carefully  so  as  to  be  able  to  recognize  them  readily. 

REFERENCES 

Cabbage,  Cauliflower,  and  Allied  Vegetables,  Allen. 

Cyclopedia  of  American  Agriculture,  Vol.  II,  Bailey. 

Farm  Crops,  Burkett. 

Forage  and  Fiber  Crops  in  America,  Hunt. 

Field  Crop  Production,  Livingston. 

Productive  Farm  Crops,  Montgomery. 

Forage  Crops  and  Their  Culture,  Piper. 

Forage  Crops,  Shaw. 

Soiling  Crops  and  the  Silo,  Shaw. 

Forage  Crops,  Voorhees. 


PART  IV— MISCELLANEOUS  CROPS 


CHAPTER  XXII 
TUBER  AND  ROOT  FOOD  CROPS 

541.  Introduction.  The  principal  tuber  and  root  food 
crops  of  the  United  States  are  the  common  Irish,  or  white, 
potato  and  the  sweet  potato.  The  Irish  potato,  which  is 
used  as  food  and  in  the  manufacture  of  starch  and  alcohol, 
is  a  tuber,  or  a  thickened  underground  stem.  Several  of 
these  are  produced  on  each  plant  a  Uttle  below  the  surface  of 
the  ground.  They  develop  from  offshoots  of  the  main  stem. 
On  the  other  hand,  the  portion  of  the  sweet  potato  which  is 
used  as  food  is  a  thickened  true  root.  The  white  potato  is 
most  largely  grown  in  the  North,  while  the  culture  of  the 
sweet  potato  is  confined  almost  entirely  to  the  South. 

THE  POTATO 
HISTORY  AND  CLASSIFICATION 

542.  Origin  and  History.  The  common  white,  or  Irish, 
potato,  Solanum  tuberosum,  is  a  native  of  the  mountain  val- 
leys of  Peru  and  Chili.  Some  investigators  beUeve  that  it 
has  been  grown  m  these  countries  for  two  thousand  years, 
but  this  is  merely  a  supposition.  De  la  Vega  found  the  Peru- 
vians cultivating  potatoes  in  1542,  and  sent  some  of  the  tubers 
to  Europe.  Several  later  importations  were  made  into  Spain, 
and  from  these  the  growth  of  potatoes  has  spread  until 
now  practically  all  the  countries  of  the  world  grow  this  crop 
to  a  greater  or  less  extent.  The  potato  was  introduced  into 
Ireland  in  1586,  and  soon  became  an  important  article  of 
food,  as  indicated  by  the  common  name  'Irish"  potato.     It 

399 


400  FIELD  CROPS 

was  probably  introduced  into  the  United  States  during  the 
colonization  period  by  early  Spanish  settlers. 

643.  Botanical  Characters.  The  potato  is  a  fibrous- 
rooted  plant  which  is  perennial  by  means  of  the  tubers  it 
produces.  It  is  for  these  tubers  that  it  is  grown,  and  by 
means  of  them  it  is  propagated.  As  the  tubers  will  not 
stand  freezing,  they  are  stored  over  winter,  and  thus  the 
potato  is  grown  as  an  annual.  The  plants  grow  from  2  to  4 
or  5  feet  long:  the  stems  are  smooth  and  somewhat  angular. 
When  the  plant  reaches  its  maximum  length  it  is  usually  re- 
cumbent, with  the  leaves  and  branches  stretching  up  from  1 
to  3  feet.  The  compound  leaves  vary  with  the  different  va- 
rieties and  stages  of  growth.     The  leaflets  are  generally  ovate. 

The  white  or  purple  flowers  appear  in  terminal  clusters. 
They  are  about  1  inch  in  diameter,  with  a  five-parted,  bell- 
shaped  corolla.  Each  flower  has  five  stamens  and  a  two- 
celled  pistil  which  occasionally  matures  seed.  When  seed  is 
matured,  it  is  often  unhke  the  parent  plant,  because  the 
flowers  are  cross-fertiHzed.  Most  of  the  new  varieties  of 
potatoes  are  obtained  by  planting  this  seed  and  making  selec- 
tions from  a  large  number  of  seedlings,  most  of  which  are 
practically  useless.  Potatoes  are  most  universally  repro- 
duced from  tubers,  and  when  one  ordinarily  speaks  of  seed 
potatoes  he  has  reference  to  the  tubers  and  not  to  the  true 
seed.  Numerous  sUght  indentations,  or  ''eyes,"  are  to  be 
found  on  the  surface  of  the  tubers.  These  are  most  numerous 
at  the  "seed"  end,  while  there  are  comparatively  few  at 
the  "stem"  end  where  the  tuber  was  attached  to  the  parent 
plant.  It  is  from  the  buds  in  these  eyes  that  new  plants  are 
produced  when  the  tubers  or  portions  of  them  are  planted. 

There  are  about  nine  hundred  species  of  the  genus 
Solanum,  but  only  a  few  are  cultivated  plants.  The  tomato 
and  nightshade  belong  to  this  genus,  and  tobacco  belongs  to 
the  same  family.  Potatoes  and  tomatoes  are  so  closely  re- 
lated that  the  branches  of  one  may  be  grafted  upon  the  other. 


VARIETIES  OF  POTATO  EH  401 

544.  Varieties.  There  is  a  very  large  number  of  different 
varieties  of  potatoes.  Some  are  distinct  types,  but  many  of 
them  are  simply  new  names  given  by  seedsmen  to  old 
standard  varieties,  for  the  purpose  of  encouraging  their  sa^e. 
While  the  varietal  characteristics  are  quite  pronounced,  it  is 
not  always  possible  to  distinguish  even  between  well-known 
kinds,  because  a  variety  will  vary  greatly  if  grown  under 
different  soil  conditions,  and  especially  if  grown  and  selected 
by  different  individuals.  Some  of  the  desirable  character- 
istics in  potatoes  are  good  yield  and  quality,  medium  size, 
smoothness,  and  shallow  eyes. 

There  are  many  different  ways  of  classifying  potatoes. 
They  may  be  divided  into  early  and  late,  white  and  red, 
smooth  and  rough,  deep  and  shallow-eyed,  or  as  long,  fiat, 
or  round,  etc.  The  most  common  classification,  however, 
is  early  and  late.  Some  of  the  well-known  early  varieties 
of  potatoes  are  Early  Ohio,  Bliss  Triumph,  and  Early  Rose. 
These  potatoes  will  usually  produce  a  crop  in  from  70  to  100 
days  from  planting.  Some  of  the  more  common  and  gener- 
ally distributed  late  varieties  are  Rural  New  Yorker,  Sir 
Walter  Raleigh,  Carman  No.  3,  and  Burbank.  These  varie- 
ties, as  a  rule,  yield  more  than  the  early  varieties.  They 
require  from  100  to  130  days  in  which  to  mature  a  crop. 

IMPORTANCE  OF  THE  CROP 

545.  World  Production.  During  the  five  years,  1909- 
1913,  the  average  annual  production  of  potatoes  in  the  world 
was  about  5,480,000,000  bushels.  These  figures  place  pota- 
toes in  the  lead  of  all  other  crops  in  the  total  number  of  bushels 
produced.  The  average  production  of  wheat,  corn,  and  oats 
for  the  same  years  was  approximately  4,000,000,000  bushels 
each.  Germany  leads  the  world  in  total  production  of 
potatoes  as  well  as  in  the  average  yield  per  acre.  The  six 
leading  countries  and  their  average  annual  production  for 
the  five  j^ears  from  1909  to  1913  are  as  follows:     Germany, 

26— 


402  FIELD  CROPS 

1,682,000,000 bushels;  European  Russia,  1,252,000,000 bushels; 
Austria-Himgary,  702,000,000  bushels;  France,  485,000,000 
bushels;  United  States,  357,000,000  bushels;  and  Great  Brit- 
ain and  Ireland,  254,000,000  bushels.  The  immense  total 
world  production  indicates  the  very  general  and  extensive 
use  of  this  crop.  The  average  acre  yields  obtained  in  some 
of  the  leading  potato-producing  countries  during  the  ten  years 
from  1904  to  1913,  inclusive,  are  as  follows:  Great  Britain 
and  Ireland,  210  bushels;  Germany,  201  bushels;  France,  130 
bushels;  Austria,  115  bushels;  Russia,  106  bushels;  and 
United  States,  96  bushels. 

546.  Production  in  the  United  States.  As  shown  by 
the  preceding  paragraph,  the  United  States  produces  only 
about  6.5  per  cent  of  the  world's  crop  of  potatoes.  For  the 
five  years  from  1913  to  1917,  inclusive,  an  average  of  3,8 14,- 
000  acres  was  devoted  to  the  potato  crop  of  the  United  States, 
from  which  366,131,000  bushels  were  produced,  worth  $322; 
511,000.  The  average  annual  acreage,  production,  and  value 
of  the  potato  crop  in  the  leading  states  is  shown  in  Table  XIX. 

N.  T.  mmmt^^mm^^mBB^tm^mmmmmma  8.6% 

MICH.  ^mm^mmm^K^^^mm^^K^m^m^  8.2% 

WIS.  m^a^mmm^^m^mm^^^^^tm  7.09% 

MINN,  ^^mm^am^^mm^^^^ammm^  7.7% 

MAINE.  wmmm^^^m^ma^ma^mammBm  7.1% 

PENN.  ^a^^mmm^a^^^^^mBmtm  6.5% 
YiRGirnkmammmmmmmmm  3.8% 

omo  ^i^^BBH^^  3.2% 

CAUF.  i^mmmmmmm^  3.0% 

IOWA  mmm^m^mmm  2.9% 

Figure  136. — Percentage  of  the  potato  crop  of  the  United  States  which  ia  pro- 
duced in  each  of  the  ten  states  of  largest  production,  1908-1917. 

Ten  states  produce  nearly  two  thirds  of  the  potato  crop 
of  the  United  States,  as  shown  in  the  accompanying  diagram 
(Figure  136).  The  remainder  of  the  crop  is  distributed 
over  practically  the  entire  area  of  the  country,  potatoes  being 
produced  to  some  extent  in  every  state  in  the  Union.  The 
states  of  largest  production,  however,  are  mostly  along 
the  northern  border.     This  crop  is  of  greater  importance 


ACRE  YIELD  OF  POTATOES 


403 


in  Maine  than  in  any  other  state,  occupying  more  than  5  per 
cent  of  the  improved  farm  land. 

547.  Acre  Yield.  The  yield  per  acre  obtained  in  the 
different  states  varies  greatly.  With  the  exception  of  Maine, 
the  states  which  produce  high  yields  grow  only  compara- 
tively small  acreages  of  potatoes.  The  average  yield  per 
acre  is  higher  in  Maine  than  in  any  other  state.  In  the 
Rocky  Mountain  and  Pacific  states  the  yield  is  usually  high, 

Table  XIX.  Average  acreage,  production,  and  farm  value  of 
potatoes  in  the  ten  leading  states  and  in  the  United  States  during 
the  five  years  from  1913  to  1917  inclusive. 


state 

Acreage 

Average 

yield 
per  acre 

Production 

Farm  value 
December  1. 

New  York 

Michigan 

Wisconsin 

Minnesota 

Maine 

Pennsylvania 

Virginia 

Ohio.... 

California 

Iowa 

All  others 

United  States.... 

Acres 

359,000 

353,000 

299,000 

282,000 

135,000 

281,000 

136,000 

153,000 

80,000 

140,000 

1,596,000 

3,814,000 

Bushels 
89.2 

83.8 
96.2 

100.4 

199.6 
85.4 

102.6 
77.2 

134.6 
75.2 
96.7 
95.7 

Bushels 

32,453,000 
29,972,000 
28,881,000 
28,328,000 
25,994,000 
24,038,000 
14,140,000 
11,867,000 
10,876,000 
10,664.000 
148,918,000 
366,131,000 

Dollars 

29,513,000 

21,006,000 

18,375,000 

17,956,000 

20,804,000 

23,629,000 

14,238,000 

11,877,000 

11,631,000 

9,476,000 

144,006,000 

322,511,000 

as  the  crop  is  grown  under  irrigation.  Except  California, 
Colorado,  and  Washington,  none  of  these  states  produces 
potatoes  in  quantity.  In  most  of  the  important  potato 
states,  the  yield  is  below  100  bushels  to  the  acre. 

SOILS  AND  FERTILIZERS 
548.  Soils.  Potatoes,  hke  many  of  the  other  farm  crops, 
are  grown  on  almost  all  classes  of  soil.  Medium  hght  loams 
are  best  adapted  to  potato  growing,  and  are  hkely  to  give 
the  best  quality  of  tubers,  though  some  excellent  potatoes 
are  produced  on  very  heavy  clay.  The  greater  portion  of 
the  crop  is  produced  on  the  lighter  types  of  soils.     Sandy  and 


404  FIELD  CROPS 

sandy  loam  soils  are  especially  desirable  for  producing 
smooth,  dean  potatoes  of  high  quaUty.  Such  soils,  how- 
ever, are  quickly  exhausted,  unless  kept  up  by  the  rotation 
of  crops  and  by  the  application  of  manure.  Any  soil,  to 
produce  a  good  crop  of  potatoes,  should  be  well  suppHed 
with  vegetable  matter,  and  be  rich  and  melloAv  to  a  consider- 
able depth. 

519.  Manures  and  Fertilizers.  Stable  manure  is  one  of 
the  most  desirable  fertilizers  for  potatoes.  It  not  only  fur- 
nishes the  necessary  plant  food,  but  helps  to  loosen  the  soil 
and  to  hold  moisture,  providing  conditions  very  favorable  for 
potatoes.  On  ordinary  soils,  a  dressing  of  from  8  to  15  loads 
of  stable  manure  to  the  acre,  well-mixed  with  the  soil,  is  a 
suitable  appUcation  for  the  crop.  Potatoes  use  much  potash, 
but  most  soils  are  well  supplied  with  this  element.  When 
commercial  fertilizers  are  used,  a  complete  fertilizer  con- 
taining from  2  to  4  per  cent  of  nitrogen,  6  per  cent  of  phos- 
phoric acid,  and  8  per  cent  of  potash,  is  usually  applied. 
Five  hundred  pounds  or  more  of  this  fertilizer  is  applied 
to  the  acre,  the  rate  depending  upon  the  condition  of  the  soil. 
In  the  South,  where  soils  are  subject  to  considerable  washing 
and  loss  of  fertility  during  all  or  nearly  all  the  j^ear,  larger 
appHcations  are  usually  made,  often  from  1,000  to  2,000 
pK)unds  to  the  acre.  On  some  of  the  lighter  types  of  soils, 
or  where  leaching  is  at  all  likety  to  take  place,  the  fertilizers 
are  often  added  during  the  growing  season.  On  account  of 
the  high  prices  of  all  fertilizers  now  prevailing  (1918),  smaller 
applications  than  usual  are  being  made  particularly  of  potash. 

GROWING  THE  CROP 

550.  Preparing  the  Land.  Soil  for  potatoes  should,  as 
a  rule,  be  plowed  deep,  from  8  to  10  or  12  inches  on  the  better 
soils.  It  is  not  desirable,  however,  to  plow  an  extremely  light 
soil  so  deep,  unless  it  has  been  heavily  fertilized  with  stable 
manure,  and  the  manure  thoroughly  mixed  with  the  soil. 


POTATO  SEED  405 

Fall  plowing  is  to  be  preferred,  though  equally  good  results 
can  usually  be  obtained  if  spring-plowed  land  is  thoroughly 
prepared.  If  the  land  is  plowed  in  the  fall,  it  becomes  dis- 
integrated and  packed  by  settUng  and  from  the  action  of  the 
weather,  and,  when  the  upper  surface  is  cultivated  and  put 
in  good  condition  in  the  spring,  a  better  seed  bed  is  obtained 
than  is  commonly  the  case  with  spring  plowing. 

If  land  is  plowed  in  the  fall,  it  is  important  that  it  be  har- 
rowed early  in  the  spring  to  aid  in  warming  up  the  soil  and 
to  conserve  moisture.  Fall-plowed  land  which  is  left  hard 
and  compact  for  several  weeks  after  it  thaws  in  the  spring 
will  probably  be  in  poorer  condition  than  well-cared-for 
spring-plowed  land.  The  potato  crop  is  capable  of  bringing 
comparatively  large  returns  to  the  acre,  and  it  is  usually 
better  to  expend  more  labor  and  fertilizer  in  getting  the  soil 
in  first-class  condition  than  is  practical  with  grain  and  corn 
crops,  which  do  not  give  as  large  returns. 

In  some  places  where  potatoes  are  grown  in  an  intensive 
way  and  where  large  yields  are  very  important,  the  land  is 
plowed  in  the  fall  and  again  in  the  spring.  The  fall  plowing, 
which  is  comparatively  shallow,  aids  in  saving  moisture, 
destroys  many  weeds  and  insects,  and  leaves  the  land  open 
to  the  action  of  the  elements  during  the  winter.  If  manure 
is  to  be  used,  it  is  applied  during  the  winter  or  in  early  spring, 
on  top  of  the  fall  plowing,  and  thoroughly  disked  into  the 
upper  3  to  5  inches  of  the  soil.  The  land  is  then  plowed  in 
the  spring  2  or  3  inches  deeper  than  it  was  in  the  fall,  and 
the  plowing  followed  by  thorough  disking  and  harrowing. 
While  this  practice  is  not  at  all  general,  it  is  advisable  in  very 
many  instances. 

551.  Seed.  Much  profit  is  lost,  under  the  common 
methods  of  growing  potatoes,  from  the  planting  of  poor  seed. 
There  is  some  tendency  for  potatoes  to  ''run  out"  if  grown 
on  any  but  the  very  best  soil,  unless  care  is  used  in  their  se- 
lection.    The  first  indication  of  the  ''running  out"  of  a 


406 


FIELD  CROPS 


stock  of  potatoes  is  seen  in  the  tubers'  becoming  somewhat 
pinched  or  constricted  at  the  seed  end,  and  longer  in  propor- 
tion to  the  thickness  than 
is  typical  of  the  variety. 
One  must  have  clearly  in 
mind  the  desirable  type  of 
the  variety,  and  select  per- 
sistently to  that  type.  If 
this  policy  is  followed,  po- 
tatoes may  be  grown  suc- 
cessfully for  years  without 
deterioration  or  without 
having  to  introduce  new 
seed.  Some  of  the  desir- 
able types  of  potatoes  are 
shown  in  Figure  137. 

The  only  condition 
which  seems  to  require  a 
change  of  seed  is  found 
in  the  South.  The  condi- 
tion is  not  brought  about 
by  deterioration  in  the 
stock  but  by  the  difficulty 
experienced  in  keeping  the 
seed  till  planting  time, 
owing  to  the  warm  cli- 
mate. Much  of  the  seed 
used  in  the  South  is  shipped  in,  and  in  Maine,  Michigan, 
Minnesota,  and  some  of  the  other  Northern  states  a  good 
business  has  been  developed  in  providing  seed  stock  for  the 
South.  This  seed  is  usually  stored  in  the  North  and  ship- 
ped south  only  in  time  for  planting. 

A  point  that  must  be  considered  in  selecting  seed  pota- 
toes, especially  if  one  is  raising  them  for  market,  is  the  market 
demand.     Too  many  growers  have  individual  preferences 


Figure  137. — Types  of  potatoes.  _  No.  1  is  an 
undesirable  type,  irregular  in  shape  and 
with  deep  eyes.  The  others  are  smooth 
and  regular  and  have  shallow  eyes.  No. 
2  is  Burbank;  No.  3  is  Carman;  No.  4 
is  Early  Ohio. 


PREPARING  POTATO   SEED  407 

regarding  varieties  and  types  of  potatoes  and  try  to  raise 
potatoes  that  please  them,  without  regard  to  the  kind  that 
the  large  buyers  want;  consequently  they  experience  diffi- 
culty in  selling  their  crop  at  good  prices.  Buyers,  as  a  rule, 
want  medium-sized,  smooth,  clean,  shallow-eyed  potatoes  of 
good  quality.  If  one  takes  into  consideration  the  fact  that 
it  costs  from  5  to  10  cents  more  to  peel  a  bushel  of  rough, 
uneven  potatoes  than  of  smooth,  uniform  ones,  and  that  the 
loss  in  peeling  the  deep-eyed  kind  is  very  much  greater,  a 
very  good  reason  will  be  seen  why  the  dealers  are  willing  to 
pay  from  15  to  25  cents  more  for  potatoes  of  a  good  type.  By 
growing  only  such  potatoes  as  the  market  demands  can  one 
hope  to  secure  the  best  prices  for  one's  surplus. 

552.  Preparing  Seed  for  Planting.  Potatoes  always 
show  a  tendency  to  sprout  as  soon  as  the  weather  becomes 
warm.  The  production  of  sprouts  that  are  long  enough  to 
break  off  in  handling  takes  just  so  much  plant  food  from  the 
seed  tubers.  Seed  potatoes  should  be  kept  in  a  cool  place 
during  the  spring,  and  stored  so  that  air  can  circulate  freely 
about  them.  A  low  temperature  can  usually  be  maintained 
in  the  root  cellar  or  basement  if  the  windows  and  doors  are 
opened  during  the  night  and  closed  during  the  hotter  part 
of  the  day.  It  is  usually  well  to  treat  potatoes  for  scab  be- 
fore planting  (Section  568). 

553.  Cutting  Seed.  Experiments  have  shown  that  pieces 
of  seed  potatoes  weighing  2  or  3  ounces  give  better  yields 
than  smaller  pieces.  Tlie  general  practice,  however,  is  to 
I^ant  about  10  bushels  of  seed  to  the  acre.  To  plant  an  acre 
with  that  quantity  of  seed,  the  pieces  must  be  cut  to  about  an 
ounce  in  size,  if  planted  at  the  usual  distances.  One  eye  is 
sufficient  for  each  piece.  If  one-ounce  pieces  are  used  there 
will  usually  be  more  than  one  eye  on  each  piece,  but  as  a  rule 
only  one  will  grow  to  any  extent,  and  so  the  additional  eyes 
are  not  objectionable.  When  potatoes  are  grown  on  a 
large  scale,  they  are  cut  with  a  machine  with  stationarj^ 


408  FIELD  CROPS 

knives  so  arranged  that  a  potato  laid  on  top  of  the  knives 
and  pushed  down  over  them  will  cut  in  pieces  of  about  the 
right  size.  Occasionally  pieces  without  eyes  may  be  cut 
by  this  method,  but  so  seldom  that  machine  cutting  is  entirely 
satisfactory.  When  potatoes  are  grown  on  a  small  scale, 
they  are  usually  cut  by  hand  with  a  knife. 

55  i.  Planting.  The  most  common  method  of  planting 
potatoes  is  in  drills  from  3  feet  to  33/^  feet  apart,  with  one 
seed  piece  dropped  at  intervals  of  from  14  to  20  inches. 
Planting  in  this  way  requires  about  10  to  12  bushels  of  pota- 
toes to  the  acre. 

The  time  of  planting  naturally  varies  with  the  location. 
In  the  Northern  states,  potatoes  for  early  market  are  planted 
as  soon  as  the  ground  can  be  put  in  good  condition  in  the 
spring.  The  later  crop  is  planted  at  any  time  in  May,  and 
sometimes  as  late  as  June  15.  Farther  south,  the  planting 
may  be  done  at  any  time  from  January  to  the  first  of  April. 
Where  two  crop»  a  year  are  grown,  one  is  usually  planted 
in  January  or  February,  and  the  second  in  July  or  August. 

The  depth  of  planting  will  vary  with  the  soil  and  kind  of 
cultivation  to  be  given.  On  the  lighter  soils,  potatoes  are 
commonly  planted  from  4  to  5  inches  deep  and  given  level 
cultivation.  On  heavier  soils,  especially  where  the  land  is 
a  little  too  wet,  they  are  planted  more  shallow  and  are  hilled. 

Where  potatoes  are  grown  on  a  small  scale,  as  for  home 
consumption,  they  are  usually  planted  by  opening  furrows 
with  a  common  plow  or  with  a  winged  shovel.  The  seed 
pieces  are  dropped  in  these  furrows  by  hand,  and  covered 
\vith  the  harrow  or  the  sulky  cultivator.  Where  a  large 
acreage  is  to  be  grown,  a  potato  planter  is  commonly  used. 
Some  of  these  machines  are  supplied  with  pickers  that  pick 
up  the  seed  pieces  and  drop  them  at  regular  intervals.  This 
type  may  be  operated  by  one  man.  Another  type  is  known 
as  the  two-man  potato  planter;  this  requires  a  driver  and 
an  additional  man  or  boy  to  help  in  feeding  to  regulate  the 


CULTIVATION  OF  POTATOES  409 

drop.  This  latter  type  is  regarded  as  more  accurate,  but  is 
slightly  more  expensive  to  operate.  These  potato  planters 
are  equipped  with  a  shovel  which  opens  the  furrow  into  which 
the  seed  pieces  are  dropped,  and  with  disks  which  run  behind 
and  throw  the  earth  on  the  row  to  cover  them.  A  marker 
is  provided  to  mark  the  next  row  as  one  is  being  planted. 


Figurfi  138. — Tlic  pumto  planter.     A  good  machine  to  use  wliere  several  acics 
of  this  crop  are  to  be  planted. 

555.  Cultivation.  The  cultivation  of  potatoes  is  not  very 
different  from  the  cultivation  of  corn,  except  that  potatoes 
planted  in  the  ordinary  way,  from  3  to  5  inches  deep,  may 
be  harrowed  before  the  plants  are  large  enough  to  cultivate, 
without  danger  of  injury,  as  is  not  so  true  of  corn.  As 
soon  as  the  rows  can  be  seen,  potatoes  are  commonly  culti- 
vated with  the  ordinary  corn  cultivator.  The  deepest  culti- 
vating should  be  done  the  first  time  through;  for  no  injury 
is  done  if  young  plants  are  covered  in  the  operation.  In 
fact,  covering  is  often  practiced  to  protect  early  potatoes 
from  a  prospective  frost.  The  subsequent  cultivation  should 
be  sufficient  to  keep  the  surface  soil  in  good  mellow  condition 


410  FIELD  CROPS 

and  destroy  all  weeds  without  injuring  the  roots  of  the  pota- 
toes. On  deep,  rich,  well-drained  land,  the  potato  roots  are 
likely  to  grow  so  deep  that  thoroughly  good  cultivation 
may  safely  be  given  to  a  depth  of  from  2  to  3  inches.  Culti- 
vation may  be  continued  until  prevented  by  the  spread  of 
the  vines.  The  later  cultivations  are  usually  given  with  a 
one-horse,  fine-toothed   cultivator. 

556.  Irrigation.     As  the  potato  crop  gives  large  returns 

to  the  acre,  it  is  quite  commonly  grown  on  irrigated  land. 

The  method  of  planting  in  drills  also  greatly  facilitates  the 

process  of  getting  water  to  the  crop.     Extremely  large  yields 

of  potatoes  are  obtained  under  irrigation;  in  fact,  with  the 

exception  of  Maine,  the  states  producing  the  largest  average 

yields  per  acre  are  those  in  which  the  main  part  of  the  crop 

is  irrigated. 

HARVESTING  AND  STORING 

557.  Harvesting.  As  a  rule,  potatoes  are  not  harvested 
until  they  are  ripe;  that  is,  until  the  vines  are  entirely  dead. 
High  prices,  however,  may  make  it  profitable  to  dig  early 
potatoes  before  they  are  fully  mature,  even  though  a  smaller 
yield  is  obtained.  Where  only  a  small  acreage  is  grown,  the 
crop  is  commonly  dug  with  a  fork,  the  potatoes  from  two 
rows  being  thrown  together.  Potatoes  may  also  be  plowed  out 
with  a  common  plow.  The  potatoes  that  are  thus  exposed  are 
picked  up;  then  the  land  is  harrowed  and  others  are  brought 
to  the  surface.  Tliis  method,  however,  is  not  in  general  use, 
because  all  the  potatoes  are  not  obtained.  Where  large 
acreages  are  grown,  a  four-horse  potato  digger  is  commonly 
used.  This  machine  is  equipped  with  a  broad,  sharp  point 
which  runs  under  the  row  and  carries  the  earth,  vines,  and 
potatoes  over  a  chain  elevator  through  which  the  earth  falls, 
leaving  the  potatoes  to  be  dropped  behind.  There  are  sev- 
eral different  types  of  potato  diggers,  but  all  work  on  approx- 
imately the  same  principle.  Digging  by  machinery  is  by  far 
the  most  satisfactory  where  there  is  much  digging  to  do. 


PICKING  POTATOES 


411 


668.  Picking.  No  satisfactory  method  of  picking  up 
potatoes  by  machinery  has  as  yet  been  invented.  Picking 
is  done  by  hand,  the  picker  using  a  basket,  a  bushel  box,  or 
a  sack.  Sometimes  several  baskets  are  set  on  a  stone  boat 
and  hauled  between  the  rows  with  one  horse,  the  pickers 
tossing  the  potatoes  into 
the  baskets.  In  Maine 
they  are  commonly  gath- 
ered in  baskets  and  then 
put  into  barrels  for  mar- 
keting. 

559.  Sorting.  Some 
small  potatoes  are  always 
produced  with  the  large 
ones,  and  often  there  are 
irregular,  sunburned,  and 
diseased  tubers.  If  these 
are  mixed  with  the  good, 
smooth,  uniform  potatoes 
the  quaUty  of  the  whole 
crop  is  lowered.  On  this 
account  most  growers 
find  it  profitable  to  sort 
their  potatoes,  offering 
for  sale  only  the  best  graAe,  and  using  the  poorer  ones  for 
stock  feed  or  for  the  manufacture  of  flour,  starch  or  alcohol. 
Sorting  is  best  done  when  the  potatoes  are  being  gathered,  for 
at  that  time  one  can  most  easily  reject  the  undesirable  tubers. 
Machines  for  sorting  are  used  to  a  considerable  extent,  but 
these  of  course  can  be  effective  only  in  separating  potatoes 
according  to  size. 

560.  Storing.  Potatoes  keep  best  at  a  temperature  be- 
tween 32°  and  40°  F.,  though  necessarily  they  are  often  kept 
for  a  considerable  length  of  time  at  higher  temperatures. 
Early  in  the  fall  they  are  veiy  commonly  put  in  piles  on  the 


Figure  139. — A  good  potato  digger. 


412  FIMJLD  CiiOFiS 

ground  in  the  field  where  they  grew,  the  piles  being  covered 
with  potato  tops,  straw,  or  hay,  and  a  httle  earth.  They 
may  be  kept  in  these  piles  until  late  in  the  fall,  or  even  all 
winter,  if  necessary.  If  they  are  to  be  left  throughout  the 
winter,  a  pit  is  usually  dug  several  feet  deep  and  filled  with 
potatoes  and  covered  as  stated  above.  As  the  weather  gets 
colder,  more  earth  or  manure  is  piled  on  top  to  prevent 
freezing.  It  is  always  desirable  in  a  pit  of  any  kind  to  leave 
a  small  opening  for  ventilation. 

Potatoes  are  also  often  stored  in  cellars  under  houses, 
a  practice  not  usually  advisable,  except  for  small  quantities 
for  home  use,  if  unavoidable,  because  the  cellar  is  likely  to 
be  too  warm  and  if  any  of  tlie  potatoes  spoil  they  make  con- 
ditions in  the  house  veiy  unhealthf ul  for  its  occupants.  Root 
cellars  built  separate  from  the  house  and  potato  warehouses 
are  far  better  storage  places.  Root  cellars  are  usually  built 
underground  and  covered  with  a  considerable  depth  of  earth. 
Such  cellars  are  usually  cool  in  warm  weather  and  sufficiently 
warm  to  protect  potatoes  from  freezing  in  cold  weather.  If 
dry  and  well  ventilated,  they  serve  their  purpose  very  well. 
Potato  warehouses  are  usually  built  near  railroad  tracks  so 
that  shipments  may  be  made  from  them  at  any  time  during 
the  winter.  The  walls  of  these  houses  are  usually  made  as 
nearly  frost-proof  as  practical,  and,  if  there  is  danger  of 
freezing,  stoves  are  used  to  rais^  the  temperature  slightly. 

MARKETING  AND  RETURNS 

561.  Marketing.  Potatoes  are  usually  marketed  as  table 
stock,  as  seed  stock,  or  as  white  or  red  stock,  the  prices  for 
each  kind  depending  upon  the  demand.  By  far  the  greater 
portion  of  the  potato  crop  is  marketed  as  table  stock,  and 
better  prices  are  secured  if  carload  lots  of  one  type  and  variety 
can  be  sold.  In  many  locahties,  small  growers  are  seriously 
handicapped  bj^  the  fact  that  it  is  practically  impossible  for 
their  buyer  to  get  a  carload  of  uniform  stock,  hence  all  the 


COST  OF  FRODUVI^a  POTATOES  413 

potatoes  in  the  community,  though  they  may  be  good  in 
quality,  must  be  sold  as  mixed  stock,  bringing  a  compara- 
tively low  price.  Small  growers  are  overcoming  this  diffi- 
culty by  agreeing  to  grow  but  one  or  two  standard  varieties. 
The  time  of  marketing  is  always  a  matter  of  judgment. 
Sometimes  one  can  get  better  prices  by  holding  potatoes  for 
several  months  before  selling,  and  again  the  price  may  be 
lower  after  that  time.  Those  who  grow  seed  potatoes  for 
the  southern  market  must  provide  some  way  of  storing  them, 
because  the  southern  buyers  do  not  want  them  until  near 
planting  time.  Mcmy  communities  in  the  North  have  or- 
ganized companies  and  have  erected  co-operative  potato 
warehouses,  that  they  may  store  their  crop,  if  necessary,  and 
ship  when  prices  are  best. 

562.  Cost  of  Production.  The  cost  of  growing  potatoes 
normally  varies  all  the  way  from  $20  to  $50  per  acre,  de- 
pending upon  the  system  of  cultivation,  price  of  labor,  rent 
of  land,  number  of  sprayings  given,  and  cost  of  fertilizer  ap- 
plied. The  Minnesota  station  found  that  in  the  potato- 
growing  sections  of  that  state,  the  average  cost  of  growing 
potatoes  on  331  acres  of  unfertilized  land  was  $26.37  to  the 
acre.  On  237  acres  of  fertilized  land  in  the  same  community, 
the  average  cost  was  $37.72  per  acre.  The  items  that  must 
be  considered  in  determining  the  cost  of  producing  potatoes 
are  plowing,  harrowing,  seed,  cutting  and  treating  seed, 
planting,  fertilizers,  cultivation,  weeding,  spraying,  digging, 
picking,  hauling,  storing,  sorting,  machinery  cost,  and  land 
rental.  At  present  (1918),  cost  of  production  is  much 
higher  than  is  here  indicated. 

563.  Prices.  There  is  a  greater  variation  in  the  prices 
obtained  for  potatoes  than  for  most  of  the  other  general  farm 
crops,  due  to  the  fact  that  the  surplus  of  one  season  cannot 
be  carried  over  to  the  next.  There  is  also  a  great  variation 
in  price  during  the  same  year  in  different  sections  of  the 
United  States,  owing  to  the  bulkiness  of  the  crop  and  the 


414  FIELD  CROPS 

cost  of  handling  and  transporting  from  one  place  to  an- 
other. The  average  farm  price  for  potatoes  in  tlie  United 
States  for  the  ten  years  from  1908  to  1917,  inclusive,  was 
76  cents  per  bushel.  The  average  price  in  Texas  for  the 
same  ten  years  was  $1.27;  in  South  Carolina,  $1.32;  in 
Florida,  $1.36;  and  in  New  Mexico,  $1.13. 

In  this  connection  it  may  be  noted  that  the  states  where 
such  high  prices  prevail  are  those  which  grow  very  small 
acreages  and  produce  comparatively  low  yields,  and  that 
all  these  states  ship  in  potatoes  rather  than  have  a  surplus 
to  ship  out.  A  large  part  of  the  crop  of  the  Southern  states 
is  early  potatoes  shipped  to  the  northern  markets  in  early 
spring,  when  they  often  bring  a  high  price.  During  the 
fifty  years,  1866-1915,  the  highest  average  farm  price  of 
potatoes  in  the  United  States  on  December  1  was  79.9  cents, 
in  1911;  the  lowest  was  26.6  cents,  in  1895.  In  1916,  a  year 
of  general  high  prices  and  of  a  short  potato  crop,  the 
average  farm  price  was  $1.46.  The  average  acre  value  for 
potatoes  in  the  United  States  for  the  five  years,  1913-1917, 
inclusive,  was  $83.37.  The  highest  acre  values  of  the  potato 
crop  are  found  in  the  West  and  in  Maine.  The  average 
farm  value  in  Nevada  for  the  five  years  mentioned  was  $163.12 
per  acre,  and  in  Maine,  $158.58.  The  lowest  value  per  acre 
was  in  Minnesota,  the  average  being  $62.98. 

564.  Exports  and  Imports.  The  United  States  is  still 
an  importing  nation ;  that  is,  ordinarily  there  are  not  quite  as 
many  potatoes  produced  as  are  used.  The  average  annual 
exports  for  the  five  years,  1912-1916,  were  2,659,000  bushels; 
while  the  average  quantity  imported  during  the  same  years 
was  3,638,000  bushels. 

ROTATION 

565.  Rotations  for  Potatoes.  Potatoes  fit  into  a  rotation 
very  much  as  corn  does;  that  is,  it  is  a  good  crop  to  follow 
clover  or  grass  and  grni)i   ci-ops  succeed  well   following  it. 


DISEASES  AND  IN  SEC  T8  415 

Grain  crops  are  slightly  more  likely  to  lodge  following  a  pota- 
to crop,  probably  due  to  the  fact  that  potatoes  draw  rather 
heavily  on  the  potash  supply  and  leave  the  soil  more  mellow 
and  loose  than  corn. 

A  very  common  rotation  in  the  general  potato-growing 
sections  in  the  North  is:  First  year,  clover;  second  year, 
potatoes;  and  third  year,  grain.  In  this  rotation  the  pota- 
toes are  planted  on  clover  sod,  and  if  available,  a  good  appli- 
cation of  manure  or  commercial  fertilizer  is  added.  On  light 
or  worn  soils,  such  a  rotation  is  desirable,  at  least  until  the 
condition  of  the  soil  is  greatly  improved.  In  many  cases, 
soils  thus  cropped  have  become  so  enriched  as  to  cause  suc- 
ceeding grain  crops  to  lodge.  The  rotation  may  then  well 
be  changed  to  a  4-year  system,  introducing  a  crop  of  corn 
following  the  potato  crop.  Such  a  rotation  would  then  be: 
First  year,  grain;  second  year,  clover;  third  year,  potatoes; 
fourth  year,  corn.  The  two  cultivated  crops,  corn  and  pota- 
toes, usually  draw  heavily  enough  on  the  fertility  so  that  the 
succeeding  grain  crop  will  not  grow  too  rank  and  lodge. 

In  the  South,  the  supply  of  vegetable  matter  is  main- 
tained usually  by  growing  cowpeas  or  some  other  green 
manure  crop,  preceding  and  following  the  potato  crop.  A 
2-year  rotation  commonly  followed  is:  First  year,  corn 
and  cowpeas  followed  by  r>^e;  second  year,  Irish  potatoes 
followed  by  winter  vetch  or  crimson  clover. 

DISEASES  AND  INSECT  ENEMIES 

566.  Blight.  The  more  prevalent  diseases  are  blight, 
scab,  and  internal  brown  rot.  Blight  appears  in  two  forms, 
the  early  and  the  late.  Early  bhght  attacks  the  leaves  of 
the  potato  plants  early  in  the  season,  and  gradually  spreads 
until  the  entire  plant  is  killed.  It  is  usually  first  seen  as 
dark  spots  on  the  leaves.  Late  bhght  attacks  the  plants  in 
a  somewhat  similar  manner,  but  considerably  later  in  the 
season.     It  first  affects  the  plants  near  the  ground   and 


416 


FIELD  CROPF^ 


spreads  rapidly  upward;  the  diseased  parts  quickly  turn 
black  and  v\^ilt.  The  spores  which  fall  from  the  leaves  to 
the  ground  may  infect  the  tubers  and  cause  them  to  rot,  thus 
completely  destroying  the  crop. 

Blight  is  controlled  by  spraying  the  potato  vines  thor- 
oughly with  Bordeaux  mixture  several  times  during  their 


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Figure  140. — Sprasnng  to  prevent  disease  and  insect  injury  is  an  important  part 
of  modern  potato  growing. 


growth.  Bordeaux  mixture  is  made  by  dissolving  6 
pounds  of  high-grade  stone  lime  in  25  gallons  of  water  and  5 
pounds  of  blue  vitriol  (copper  sulphate)  in  25  gallons  of  water 
in  another  receptacle.  Allien  the  blue  vitriol  is  completely 
dissolved,  the  contents  of  the  two  barrels  are  poured  together 
and  the  mixture  is  complete.  Care  must  be  taken  that  suf- 
ficient lime  is  used,  or  the  mixture  may  injure  the  plants. 
The  treatment  has  no  effect  after  the  disease  has  started, 
but  is  a  preventive  which  must  be  used  often  enough  to  pro 


DI8EA8E8  AND  INSECTS  417 

vent  the  gennination  of  the  bhght  spores.  The  common 
practice  is  to  spray  the  crop  first  when  the  vines  are  from 
6  to  8  inches  high,  and  repeat  the  spraying  every  ten  days 
or  two  weeks,  or  often  enough  to  keep  the  vines  well  coated 
with  the  mixture.  There  are  some  sections  where  blight 
is  not  sufficiently  troublesome  to  warrant  spraying,  but  in 
most  instances  it  proves  profitable. 

567.  Internal  Brown  Rot.  In  some  sections  and  in  some 
seasons,  internal  brown  rot  causes  immense  losses,  while  in 
other  sections  the  disease  is  hardly  known.  The  disease 
usually  gets  into  the  soil  with  the  seed  potatoes,  or  it  may 
five  over  in  a  soil  that  has  produced  diseased  potatoes.  It 
may  be  seen  when  tubers  are  cut  open  as  a  dark  brown  streak 
around  the  potato  a  short  distance  from  the  surface. 

The  only  remedy  for  this  disease  as  yet  known  is  to  make 
sure  that  clean  seed  is  planted.  Care  must  be  used  in  cutting 
seed  to  let  nothing  get  into  the  field  that  shows  any  indications 
of  the  disease.  A  rotation  of  crops  which  provides  for  the 
growing  of  potatoes  but  once  in  several  seasons  on  the  same 
soil  is  also  effective. 

568.  Scab.  Scab,  which  attacks  the  outside  of  the 
tubers,  causing  rough,  unsightly  blotches,  also  does  immense 
damage  throughout  the  countiy.  The  disease  may  be  car- 
ried over  in  the  soil  or  on  the  seed.  As  it  works  on  the  out- 
side of  the  tubers,  it  may  be  controlled  by  treating  the  seed. 
Potatoes  that  show  any  indications  of  scab  should  be  treated 
before  they  are  cut.  Mix  1  pound  of  40  per  cent  formalde- 
hyde in  30  or  35  gallons  of  water  and  soak  the  seed  potatoes 
in  this  solution  for  two  hours.  If  the  soil  is  infected  with 
scab,  potatoes  should  not  be  planted  on  it  for  several  years. 
Plowing  under  green  manure  crops  which  will  develop  acid  in 
the  soil  is  somewhat  effective  in  destroying  the  spores. 

569.  Insects  Injurious  to  Potatoes.  There  are  numerous 
insects  which  affect  the  potato  crop.  Cutworms,  wire- 
worms,  and  grubs  often  attack  the  crop  on  sod  land. 

27— 


418  FIELD  CROPS 

The  control  of  these  pests  has  been  discussed  under  corn. 
By  far  the  most  troublesome  insect  is  the  potato  bug,  or 
Colorado  beetle.  The  mature  beetle  lays  its  eggs  on  the 
under  side  of  the  leaves  of  the  potato.  The  larvae  feed  on  the 
leaves  and  if  not  checked  will  strip  the  plant,  thus  prevent- 
ing further  growth.  These  beetles  cause  an  immense  loss  to 
the  potato  crop  throughout  the  United  States  every  year. 
Potato  beetles  are  usually  controlled  by  spraying  the  vines 
with  Paris  green,  arsenate  of  lead,  or  arsenite  of  soda.  By 
far  the  most  common  poison  is  Paris  green.  This  is  mixed 
in  water  at  the  rate  of  from  1  to  4  pounds  in  50  gallons,  and 
sprayed  on  the  vines  either  by  hand  with  a  whisk  broom, 
with  a  small  knapsack  sprayer,  or  by  a  large  horse  sprayer 
that  will  spray  several  rows  at  a  time.  The  machine  em- 
ployed usually  depends  on  the  extent  to  which  the  crop  is 
grown.  It  is  important  that  the  solution  be  applied  quite 
thoroughly  to  all  parts  of  the  plant,  and  in  sufl&cient  strength 
to  be  sure  to  destroy  the  beetles.  The  use  of  a  poor  grade 
of  poison  or  of  a  weak  solution  may  make  the  work  ineffective. 
Early  and  effective  spraying  is  imperative.  Spraying  for 
both  bUght  and  beetles  may  be  accomphshed  by  mixing  poi- 
son with  the  Bordeaux  mixture,  instead  of  with  water,  and 
applying  both  at  one  operation. 

IMPROVEMENT  OF  THE  CROP 

570.  Crossing.  Improvement  in  potatoes  is  conunonly 
accomplished  in  two  ways,  by  selecting  new  varieties  grown 
from  seed  and  by  selecting  the  best  tubers  from  the  best  hills 
of  some  of  the  common  varieties.  If  seed  produced  on  potato 
vines  is  planted,  there  will  be  great  variation  in  the  plants 
which  are  obtained.  This  variation  gives  the  breeder  a  wide 
range  from  which  to  select.  Crosses  between  two  varieties 
of  known  characters  are  sometimes  made  artificially  with  a 
«70w  to  combining  in  one  variety  the  good  qualities  of  both. 
The  desired  results  are  not  always  secured,  as  the  poor  quali- 


THE  8WEET  POTATO  419 

ties  of  two  varieties  crossed  are  as  likely  to  predominate 
in  the  progeny  as  the  good  ones.  Good  results,  however,  are 
sometimes  obtained  from  inteUigent  crossing  and  subsequent 
selection,  some  of  our  leading  varieties  of  potatoes  having 
been  produced  in  this  way. 

571.  Selection.  Breeding  by  selection  is  by  far  the  most 
common  method  of  improving  varieties  of  potatoes,  and  one 
which  may  be  practiced  with  profit  by  any  careful  grower. 
It  is  based  on  the  fact  that  the  productivity  of  individual 
tubers  in  a  variety  differs.  By  selecting  those  tubers  which 
appear  to  be  best  and  then  comparing  their  productivity  by 
planting  them  in  a  uniform  field  and  harvesting  the  product 
from  each  tuber  separately,  those  which  produce  large  yields 
of  good  quality  may  be  preserved  and  propagated. 

The  method  of  selection  most  practical  on  the  average 
farm  is  to  observe  a  large  number  of  hills  as  they  are  dug  and 
save  for  seed  the  tubers  from  hills  that  produced  the  largest 
number  of  desirable  potatoes.  Many  experiments  have 
shown  marked  improvement  from  such  methods  of  selection. 

Large  potatoes  are  preferable  as  seed. 

THE  SWEET  POTATO 

572.  Origin  and  Description.  The  sweet  potato  is  a 
native  of  the  New  World  and  quite  probably  also  of  eastern 
Asia,  as  it  was  cultivated  in  China  in  early  times.  It  was 
not  known  in  Europe  till  after  the  discovery  of  America. 
The  edible  portion  is  a  true  root,  one  of  the  few  roots 
used  as  food.  The  plant  is  a  member  of  the  Convulvulaceae, 
or  morning-gloiy  family;  the  species  is  Ipomea  batatas.  The 
plant  produces  numerous  running  vines  several  feet  in  length, 
with  smooth,  shining  leaves  about  the  shape  and  size  of  those 
of  a  morning-glory.  .The  edible  roots  are  produced  in  a 
cluster  just  beneath  the  surface  of  the  ground.  Sweet  pota- 
toes are  reproduced  from  sprouts  from  the  roots  or  from  cut- 
tings of  the  vines,  and  not  from  seed. 


420 


fi:eld  crops 


673.  Varieties.  The  varieties  that  are  cormnonly  grown 
in  the  more  northern  states  are  of  the  Jersey  type,  including 
the  Big  Stem,  Yellow,  and  Red  Jersey  varieties.  The  pota- 
toes are  rather  short  and  thick,  with  light  yellow  flesh,  which 
is  likely  to  be  rather  dry,  especially  late  in  the  season.     In 


Figure  141. — Five  varieties  of  sweet  potatoes:  1,  Black  Spanish  or  "Nigger 
Choker;"  2,  Long,  cylindrical  type;  3,  Jersey  group,  spinf'le  shape;  4,  Red 
Bermuda;  5,  Southern  Queen.     The  last  three  are  most  desirable  in  shape. 


the  South,  the  ''yam"  type  of  sweet  potato  is  the  more  popu- 
lar. The  varieties  of  this  type  are  much  sw^eeter  and  moister 
than  those  of  the  Jersey  type;  the  flesh  may  be  light  yellow, 
orange,  or  mottled.  The  individual  roots  are  usually  short 
and  thick,  though  they  may  be  very  slender  in  some  varie- 
ties. The  most  popular  varieties  of  the  yam  type  are  South- 
ern Queen,  Georgia,  and  Red  Bermuda. 

574.  Importance.  The  area  annually  devoted  to  sweet 
potatoes  in  the  United  States  is  about  600,000  to  700,000 
acres,  though  in  1917  it  was  953,000  acres.  The  production 
in  1917  was  87,141 ,000  bushels.     As  the  crop  requires  at  least 


SOILS  AND  FERTILIZERS  421 

four  and  one  half  months  without  frost  for  its  growth,  with 
plenty  of  warm  weather  both  day  and  night,  its  culture  is 
confined  largely  to  the  Southern  states,  though  it  may  be 
grown  for  home  use  as  far  north  as  southern  New  York  and 
from  there  westward  to  Iowa  and  Nebraska.  Sweet  potatoes 
are  grown  principally  in  the  South  Atlantic  and  Gulf  states, 
the  leading  states  being  Alabama,  with  178,000  acres  in  1917, 
producing  16,020,000  bushels;  Georgia,  with  125,000  acres; 
North  Carolina,  90,000  acres;  Mississippi,  85,000  acres;  and 
Texas,  84,000  acres.  Among  the  other  districts  where  the 
crop  is  grown  on  a  large  scale  for  market  are  New  Jersey, 
eastern  Maryland  and  Virginia,  and  near  Merced,  California. 

575.  Soils  and  Fertilizers.  The  best  soil  for  sweet  pota- 
toes is  a  sand  or  sandy  loam  with  a  clay  or  clay  loam  subsoil. 
The  loose  surface  soil  allows  the  roots  to  develop,  while  the 
heavy  subsoil  retains  the  moisture  and  prevents  the  forma- 
tion of  long  slender  roots  which  are  not  marketable.  Soils 
of  this  nature  tend  to  produce  the  rather  short,  spindle-shaped 
potatoes  so  much  desired  for  the  market,  of  the  type  shown 
at  the  center  in  Figure  141.  The  sweet  potato  will  grow  in 
veiy  poor  soils,  though  it  will  yield  better  in  those  of  moder- 
ate fertility.  The  lands  should  be  rich  enough  to  produce  a 
good  growth  of  vines  and  foliage,  but  too  much  manure  or 
too  rich  soil  will  tend  toward  the  production  of  a  heavy  top 
growth  with  only  a  few  small,  undesirable  potatoes.  The 
quantity  of  commercial  fertilizer  which  is  ordinarily  used  is 
small,  only  from  200  to  500  pounds  to  the  acre.  The  use  of 
crimson  clover  or  some  other  legume  in  the  rotation  is  de- 
sirable to  furnish  the  necessary  vegetable  matter  in  the  soil. 

576.  Growing  the  Plants.  Sweet  potatoes  are  ordinarily 
grown  from  sprouts  from  the  roots  rather  than  by  planting 
the  roots  themselves  in  the  field,  though  this  latter  practice 
is  followed  to  some  extent  in  the  South.  The  usual  plan  is 
to  start  the  plants  in  a  bed  of  warm  soil  or  in  a  hotbed  and 
remove  them  for  setting  in  the  field  as  they  become  large 


422 


Flk]LD  CROPS 


enougli.  As  the  roots  continue  to  send  up  shoots  for  some 
time,  a  comparatively  small  number  will  produce  sprouts 
enough  for  a  considerable  area.  Half  a  bushel  of  seed  will 
supply  1,000  good  plants  at  the  first  pulling.  The  best 
plants  are  usually  produced  in  a  moderate   hotbed   from 


Figure  142, — The  type  of  sweet  potato  plants  suitable  for  setting. 


roots  buried  about  3  inches  deep  in  leaf  mold  or  rather  loose 
earth.  Before  setting  in  the  field,  the  plants  should  be  pulled 
carefully  from  the  bed  and  bunched  in  baskets  or  boxes. 
They  will  keep  much  better  if  they  are  ''puddled"  by  dipping 
the  roots  in  a  thin  mud  of  clay  and  water,  but  the  tops  of 
the  plants  should  be  kept  dr3^  Sweet  potatoes  may  also  be 
propagated  from  cuttings  of  the  vines,  which  root  readily. 
If  only  a  few  plants  are  wanted  for  home  use,  it  is  often  easier 
and  cheaper  to  bu}^  the  plants  than  to  grow  them. 

577.  Preparation  of  the  Soil.    The  right  type  of  soil  for 
sweet  potatoes  is  easily  prepared.     It  should  be  plowed  some 


SETTING  SWEET  PO TA TOES  iM 

time  previous  to  give  it  time  to  settle,  and  disked  and  har- 
rowed sufficiently  to  put  it  in  good  tilth.  As  good  drainage 
is  essential  to  success,  ridge  culture  is  practiced  if  the  land 
is  not  naturally  well  drained.  Planting  on  flat  or  unridged 
land  is  less  expensive  and  just  as  satisfactory  unless  drainage 
is  needed.  The  ridges,  which  should  be  33/2  or  4  feet  apart, 
may  be  made  by  throwing  furrows  together  with  a  plow. 
This  preparation  should  be  made  long  enough  before  planting 
to  allow  the  land  to  become  firm  again.  Just  before  the 
plants  are  set,  a  fight  harrowing  will  put  the  land  in  good 
condition.  It  should  then  be  gone  over  with  a  marker  which 
indicates  the  rows  (if  the  land  is  not  ridged),  and  the  distances 
at  which  the  plants  should  be  set  in  the  row.  For  level 
culture,  the  plants  are  usually  set  about  2  feet  apart  each 
way,  though  they  may  be  2}/^  by  2  feet  or  even  2}^  by  23^ 
feet.  Plants  are  usually  set  about  16  or  18  inches  apart  when 
planted  in  ridges.  It  is  not  necessarj^  to  mark  the  rows  if  a 
transplanting  machine  is  used. 

578.  Setting  the  Plants.  The  plants  should  not  be  set 
in  the  field  till  all  danger  of  frost  is  past.  The  setting  may 
be  done  by  hand  or  with  a  transplanting  machine.  If  the 
plants  are  to  be  set  by  hand,  the  work  can  be  hastened  by 
opening  a  shallow  furrow  down  the  line  of  the  ridge  or  along 
the  mark.  The  principal  things  to  observe  in  setting  are  to 
have  the  roots  and  the  soil  moist  and  to  press  the  earth 
firmly  about  the  plants.  Planting  as  soon  as  the  ground  can 
be  worked  after  a  rain  or  putting  about  a  half  pint  of  water 
in  each  hole  will  help  materially  in  getting  a  good  stand. 
Only  strong,  well-rooted  plants  should  be  set. 

579.  Cultivation.  The  cultivation  of  sweet  potatoes  is 
not  different  from  that  given  to  most  other  cultivated  crops. 
The  surface  of  the  soil  should  be  stirred  often  enough  to 
prevent  the  growth  of  weeds  and  to  hold  the  soil  moisture. 
One  or  two  hoeings  may  be  necessary  to  remove  the  weeds 
from  the  rows.     Shallow  cultivation  should  be  given  after 


424  FIELD  CROPS 

each  rain  till  the  vines  cover  the  ground  quite  completel}^ 
when  the  field  should  be  'laid  by"  by  throwing  some  earth 
toward  the  row  at  the  last  cultivation. 

580.  Digging.  Sweet  potatoes  should  be  dug  before  frost, 
as  they  are  easily  injured.  If  the  vines  freeze  before  they  are 
dug,  they  should  be  cut  awaj^  at  once  to  prevent  the  frozen 
sap  from  going  back  into  the  roots.  The  potatoes  are  usually 
plowed  out,  a  rolling  coulter  being  used  to  cut  the  vines. 
Care  should  be  used  in  harvesting  and  marketing  to  avoid 
injuiy  to  the  potatoes.  The  ordinary  potato  digger  is  quite 
Ukely  to  bruise  them,  and  a  bruised  sweet  potato  does  not 
keep  long.  The  potatoes  are  usually  picked  up  by  hand  and 
carried  to  the  packing  shed  for  grading.  Those  which  are  to 
be  shipped  some  distance  are  generally  packed  in  ventilated 
barrels,  while  those  which  are  marketed  near  by  are  sold  in 
baskets  or  crates.  For  winter  storage,  a  dry  room  or  cellar 
maintaining  a  temperature  of  35  degrees  F.  is  best. 

581.  Uses.  Sweet  potatoes  are  ordinarily  used  as  food 
for  man,  and  may  be  prepared  for  the  table  in  manj^  ways. 
They  form  one  of  the  principal  articles  of  food  throughout 
the  South,  where  they  are  much  more  generally  used  than 
are  white,  or  Irish,  potatoes.  The  vines  have  some  slight 
value  as  feed  for  stock,  and  some  of  the  coarser  varieties  of 
potatoes  are  grown  for  feeding  to  hogs  and  other  animals. 
When  these  varieties  are  grown  for  hog  pasture,  they  are  not 
dug,  but  the  hogs  are  turned  in  and  allowed  to  root  out  the 
potatoes.  While  they  grow  well  on  this  food,  the  hogs  must 
be  given  some  corn  in  order  to  fatten  them. 

LABORATORY  AND  FIELD  EXERCISES 

1.  Obtain  at  least  100  potatoes  of  some  standard  variety  and  select 
from  them  the  10  that  best  represent  the  variety.  Compare  these  with 
any  that  show  signs  of  running  out  as  indicated  by  elongation  and 
pinching  up  of  the  seed  end. 

2.  If  possible,  obtain  a  sample  of  potatoes  affected  by  internal 
brown  rot.  Cut  open  several  tubers  to  become  familiar  with  the  effect 
of  the  disease  and  to  learn  to  identify  it. 


REFERENCES  425 

8.  Obtain  10  pounds  of  medium-sized,  emooth,  shallow-eyed  pota- 
toes, and  10  pounds  of  rough,  deep-eyed  potatoes.  Carefully  pare  both 
samples,  noting  the  time  required  and  the  appearance.  Weigh  the 
pared  potatoes  of  each  sample.  What  was  the  percentage  of  waste  in 
each  and  what  was  the  difference  in  time  required  to  peel  the  two 
samples? 

4.  Dig  100  hills  of  potatoes  in  a  field  where  all  hills  were  grown 
under  as  nearly  uniform  conditions  as  possible.  Note  the  weight,  uni- 
formity, character,  and  proportion  of  marketable  tubers  in  each  hill. 
What  would  be  the  yield  and  value  of  an  acre  of  potatoes  planted  in 
the  usual  way  if  all  hills  were  like  the  best?     If  all  were  Hke  the  poorest? 

5.  Set  stakes  beside  hills  of  growing  potatoes  on  which  the  foliage 
has  been  destroyed  by  bugs  or  blight,  and  by  others  with  foliage  unin- 
jured. At  digging  time  note  yields  from  the  marked  hills.  The  results 
will  emphasize  the  importance  of  spraying. 

6.  Obtain  three  potatoes  of  about  the  same  size  of  each  variety 
commonly  grown  in  your  community.  Put  them  all  in  a  uniformlj' 
heated  oven  and  bake  until  one  variety  is  well  done.  Remove  all  po- 
tatoes and  examine  as  to  baking  and  quality.  Is  there  any  reason  why 
buyers  prefer  a  car  of  potatoes  of  one  variety  to  a  car  of  mixed  varieties? 

REFERENCES 

Cyclopedia  of  American  Agriculture,  Vol.  II,  Bailey. 

Farm  Crops,  Burkett. 

Southern  Field  Crops,  Duggar. 

Sweet  Potato  Culture,  Fitz. 

The  Potato,  Eraser. 

The  Potato,  Grubb  and  Guilford. 

Field  Crop  Production,  Livingston. 

Productive  Farm  Crops,  Montgomery. 

The  Potato,  Gilbert. 

A  B  C  of  Potato  Culture,  Terry  and  Root. 

Potatoes  for  Profit,  Van  Ornam. 

Scientific  Potato  Culture,  Young. 

Farmers'  Bulletins: 

324.  Sweet  Potatoes. 

544.  Potato  Tuber  Diseases. 

548.  Storing  and  Marketing  Sweet  Potatoes. 

753.  Commercial  Handling,  Grading,  and  Marketing  of  Potatoes. 

847.  Potato  Storage  and  Storage  Houses. 

953.  Growing  Potatoes  under  Irrigation. 

970.  Sweet  Potato  Storage. 


CHAPTER  XXIII 
SUGAR  PLANTS 

582.  Introduction.  The  two  leading  sugar  plants  of  the 
world  are  the  sugar  beet  and  sugar  cane.  Sugar  cane  has 
been  cultivated  for  many  centuries.  The  development  of  the 
sugar-beet  industry  dates  back  little  more  than  a  hundred 
years.  The  cultivation  of  sugar  cane  is  confined  to  the 
tropical  and  semitropical  portions  of  the  world.  The  sugar 
beet  is  a  plant  which  normally  succeeds  best  in  temperate 
climates.  The  production  of  both  cane  and  beet  sugar  has 
increased  enonnously  in  the  past  twenty  years,  reaching  its 
maximum  in  1913-14,  when  the  estimated  sugar  production  of 
the  world  was  20,704,000  short  tons.  Of  this,  11,270,000 
was  cane  sugar,  and  9,434,000  tons  was  beet  sugar.  The 
production  of  cane  sugar  usually  considerably  exceeds  the 
production  of  beet  sugar. 

THE  SUGAR  BEET 

583.  History  and  Description.  Reference  has  already 
been  made  to  the  sugar  beet  in  the  chapter  on  root  forage 
crops.  It  is  one  of  the  several  forms  of  Beta  vulgaris,  of  which 
the  mangel  is  another.  The  sugar  beet  is  a  broad-leaved 
plant  with  a  long  taproot.  The  upper  part  of  this  root  and 
the  base  of  the  stem  are  thickened.  The  root  is  broadest  a 
little  below  the  crown  and  tapers  very  gTadually,  as  shown 
in  Figure  143.  The  flesh  and  sldn  of  the  sugar-beet  root  are 
white,  and  the  root  grows  ahnost  entirely  below  the  surface. 
A  good  root  weighs  from  1  to  IJ^  pounds,  and  contains  about 
20  per  cent  of  soKds,  of  which  about  four  fifths  is  sugar.  The 
plant  is  a  biennial;  seed  is  produced  by  storing  the  roots  over 
winter  and  setting  them  out  the  following  spring. 

420 


IMPORTANCE  OF  SUGAR  BEETS  487 

The  development  of  the  beet  as  a  sugar-producing  plant 
dates  to  about  1800,  when  German  chemists  began  to  experi- 
ment in  the  production  of  sugar  from  plants  which  could  be 
grown  in  temperate  cUmates.  The  increase  in  sugar  content 
of  the  beet  root  from  6  to  about  16  per  cent  is  the  result  of 
careful  breeding.     The  beet-sugar  industry  has  been  and  is 


■ 

1 

|P-\.  ^^^^^^^H 

mm 

|k^9 

mk^  :j^^^^m^a~F^^^^m 

^^K;h 

^^^k'^^^^I 

^I^^^B  *  "^^1 

^^^^B^H 

H 

■ 

m 

Figure  143. — Sugar  beets  of  the  most  desirable  type. 

an  immensely  valuable  one  in  Germany  and  other  European 
countries,  and  it  is  rapidly  developing  in  the  United  States. 
584.  Importance.  Of  the  8,757,000  tons  of  beet  sugar 
produced  in  the  world  from  the  1914-15  crop,  6,469,000  tons, 
or  nearly  three  fourths,  were  produced  in  Germany,  Russia, 
and  Austria-Hungary.  The  development  of  the  beet-sugar 
industry  in  the  United  States  is  of  comparatively  recent 
date.  It  was  not  till  1906  that  the  production  of  sugar  from 
beets  in  this  countiy  exceeded  that  from  sugar  cane.  In 
1900,  the  production  of  beet  sugar  amounted  to  76,589  long 
tons,  while  that  of  cane  sugar  was  278,470  long  tons,  or 
nearly  four  times  as  much.     In  1910,  the  production  of  beet 


428  FIELD  CROPS 

sugar  had  reached  450,000  tons,  while  that  of  cane  sugar  was 
311,000  tons,  only  about  two  thirds  as  much.  In  1917,  the 
production  of  beet  sugar  was  765,000  short  tons,  and  of  cane 
sugar  only  235,000  tons.  The  average  area  of  sugar  beet? 
harvested  in  the  United  States  for  the  five  years  from  1913 
to  1917  was  601,000  acres,  with  a  production  of  5,729,000 
tons  of  beets,  from  which  1,566,216,000  pounds  of  sugar  were 
made.  In  the  past  ten  years  the  area  devoted  to  the  crop 
has  increased  from  398,000  acres  in  1910  to  874,000  acres  in 
1915,  the  production  of  sugar  from  1,199,000,000  pounds  to 
1,748,000,000  pounds,  and  the  number  of  factories  from 
sixty  to  ninety-one. 

Colorado  w^as  the  leading  state  in  production  in  1917, 
with  fifteen  factories  and  468,606,000  pounds  of  sugar.  Cal- 
ifornia was  second  with  418,650,000  pounds,  Utah  third  with 
167,324,000  pounds,  Michigan  fourth  with  128,494,000 
pounds,  and  Idaho  fifth  with  77,000,000  pounds.  In  addi- 
tion, there  were  21  other  factories  in  other  states,  scattered 
from  IlKnois  to  Washington  and  Oregon,  with  a  total  pro- 
duction of  222,000,000  pounds.  The  area  of  sugar  beet  pro- 
duction in  this  countiy  is  capable  of  wide  extension,  while  for 
sugar  cane  it  is  comparatively  limited. 

585.  Culture.  The  culture  of  sugar  beets  differs  Httle 
from  that  of  mangels  (Section  526) .  The  crop  grows  best  in 
a  loam  or  sandy  loam  soil.  Good  preparation  is  essential,  as 
the  seed  is  rath  r  slow  to  germinate.  The  land  should  be 
as  free  as  possible  from  weeds,  because  the  heaviest  expense 
of  production  is  for  cultivation.  The  seed  is  ordinarily 
sown  with  a  beet  drill  which  sows  several  rows  at  a  time. 
The  usual  distance  between  the  rows  is  from  20  to  28  inches. 
Where  the  crop  is  irrigated,  the  beets  are  often  sown  in 
double  rows  1  foot  apart,  with  a  space  of  from  24  to  28  inches 
between  each  pair  of  rows.  To  insure  a  full  stand,  20  pounds 
of  seed  to  the  acre  is  required.  Seeding  should  be  done 
early  in  May. 


SUGAR  BEET  SEED  429 

Cultivation  should  be  begun  as  soon  as  the  rows  can  be 
followed,  and  continued  at  intervals  of  six  or  eight  days  until 
the  tops  meet  between  the  rows.  A  special  cultivator  which 
cultivates  several  rows  at  a  time  is  in  common  use.  In 
order  to  obtain  a  perfect  stand  and  prevent  crowding,  the 
plants  must  be  thinned  at  about  the  time  the  fifth  leaf  is 
produced.  They  are  bunched  and  then  thinned  by  hand 
in  the  same  manner  as  already  described  for  mangels,  except 
that  the  distance  between  the  plants  is  about  8  inches.  The 
beets  should  be  harvested  before  danger  of  frost  in  the  fall, 
and  should  be  protected  from  freezing.  The  tops  are  ordi- 
narily twisted  off  by  hand  and  the  beets  thrown  into  piles, 
from  which  they  are  hauled  to  the  sugar  factoiy  or  shipping 
station.  The  tops  are  usually  cured  for  feeding  to  cattle 
or  other  stock.  If  they  are  not  needed  as  forage,  they  should 
be  spread  on  the  land  as  fertilizer. 

The  highest  percentage  of  sugar  is  produced  when  there 
is  plenty  of  moisture,  particularly  during  the  early  growth, 
with  abundant  sunlight.  These  conditions  are  found  most 
commonly  in  the  irrigated  districts  of  the  Rocky  Mountain 
and  Pacific  states,  though  the  Northern  states  generally 
present  favorable  conditions  for  the  growth  of  sugar  beets. 

586.  Production  of  Beet  Seed.  Sugar  beets  for  seed 
production  are  selected  by  taking  small  samples  out  of  the 
side  of  the  root  with  a  trier  and  determining  the  percentage 
of  sugar  they  contain.  Only  those  which  show  the  proper 
sugar  content  are  retained  for  planting.  The  hole  made 
by  the  trier  should  be  filled  with  charcoal  or  clay  to  prevent 
decay.  The  roots  should  be  stored  over  winter  in  sand  in  a 
dry  cellar  or  pit,  tested  the  next  spring  for  sugar  content, 
and  then  planted  in  rows  in  the  field  to  produce  seed.  From 
three  to  five,  roots  are  required  to  produce  a  pound  of  seed. 
Eighteen  to  twenty  pounds  of  sugar  beet  seed  per  acre  is 
sufficient  for  a  good  stand.  A  large  part  of  the  sugar-beet 
seed  sown  in  the  United  States  is  now  produced  here. 


430  FIELD  OROPS 

587.  The  Manufacture  of  Sugar.  After  the  beets  reach 
the  factory,  they  are  washed  and  trimmed,  and  are  then  cut 
into  long  strips  called  ''cossettes."  The  juice  is  then  ex- 
tracted from  these  cossettes  by  means  of  hot  water,  leaving 
the  by-product  known  as  beet  pulp.  A  small  quantity  of 
Ume  is  then  added  to  the  juice;  the  impurities  combine  with 


^^j 

mi          '    *   '  •- 

H^^^HI* 

B 

mm^^ 

■^Br^^^^^^^^^BI^^^^^HH 

■■■i^^^^HBi^SPHHi' 

Figure  144.— A  mill  for  the  manufacture  of  beet  sugar.     Thig  factory  has  a  capa- 
city of  15,000,000  pounds  of  sugar  a  year. 

it  and  solidify,  and  are  removed  by  filtering.  The  purified 
juice  is  then  boiled  down;  when  it  thickens  sufficiently,  it  is 
placed  in  pans  within  a  vacuum  and  boiled  until  the  sugar 
crystallizes.  The  grains  of  sugar  are  now  separated  from  the 
molasses  by  placing  the  "mass-cuite,''  as  the  product  is  called 
as  it  comes  from  the  vacuum  pans,  in  a  centrifugal  machine 
lined  with  fine  sieves.  The  whirling  action  of  the  machine 
drives  the  molasses  through  the  sieves  and  the  sugar  is  re- 
tained. The  wet  sugar  is  heated  to  drive  off  the  extra  mois- 
ture, after  which  it  is  ready  for  market,  while  the  molasses 
is  again  boiled  in  the  vacuum  pans  until  the  sugar  it  contains 
ciystallizes.  This  second  sugar  or  mass-cuite  is  dark  in 
color,  and  is  mixed  with  fresh  juice  to  hghten  it.  It  is  then 
boiled  again  m  the  vacuum  pans  and  the  sugar  extracted. 
The  molasses  from  the  second  boiling  is  used  for  stock  feed. 


8UGAR  CA2fE  431 

688.  By-products  and  Their  Value.  Beet  pulp,  the  cos- 
settes  or  strips  of  the  beet  roots  from  which  the  sugar  has  been 
extracted,  contains  about  90  per  cent  of  water  and  10  per 
cent  of  solids,  so  that  it  is  nearly  equal  to  mangels  in  feeding 
value.  The  pulp  is  relished  by  dairy  cows,  and  makes  an 
excellent  substitute  for  corn  silage.  If  it  is  combined  with 
clover  or  alfalfa  hay  when  fed  to  beef  cattle  or  sheep,  com- 
paratively little  grain  is  required.  Toward  the  close  of  the 
feeding  period,  grain  should  gradually  be  substituted  for 
the  beet  pulp,  finishing  the  fattening  on  hay  and  grain  with- 
out pulp.  Dried  beet  pulp  is  supplied  by  some  factories. 
This  keeps  much  better  than  wet  pulp  and  is  much  Hghter  to 
handle,  one  pound  of  it  being  equal  in  feeding  value  to  about 
eight  pounds  of  wet  pulp.  Beet  molasses  alone  is  not  pal- 
atable, but  it  is  often  mixed  with  pulp  before  drying,  the 
dried  molasses  beet  pulp  being  about  equal  in  feeding  value 
to  the  dried  pulp  without  the  molasses.  Beet  molasses  is 
also  mixed  with  chopped  hay  or  straw  for  feeding  to  stock. 

SUGAR  CANE 

589.  History  and  Character.  Sugar  cane,  Saccharum 
officinarum,  is  a  perennial  grass  growing  from  8  to  15  feet 
high,  with  solid,  heavy  stalks  like  corn.  The  flowers  are  in 
silky,  plume-like  terminal  panicles,  but  seed  is  seldom  pro- 
duced. The  plant  is  grown  for  the  juice  which  the  stalks 
contain,  and  from  which  sugar  and  molasses  are  made. 
Sugar  cane  has  long  been  cultivated  in  tropical  countries, 
and  until  quite  recent  years  was  the  principal  source  of  sugar. 
It  is  probably  a  native  of  southeastern  Asia  or  some  of  the 
adjacent  islands. 

590.  Sugar  Content.  The  sweet,  or  saccharine,  matter  is 
confined  to  the  stalks  and  is  greatest  near  the  middle,  de- 
creasing at  the  ends,  but  more  particularly  near  the  top.  For 
this  reason  it  is  most  profitable  to  save  the  upper  portions 
of  the  stalks  for  replanting,  though  sometimes  the  whole 


432  FIELD  CROPS 

cane  is  used.  The  saccharine  content  and  the  purity  of  the 
juice  depend  on  the  soil,  the  cHmate,  and  many  other  factors. 
The  stalks  consist  of  fiber  and  juice.  A  large  proportion  of 
fiber  naturally  means  a  low  sugar  content,  hence  stalks  with 
short  joints  are  undesirable  on  account  of  the  extra  fiber  they 
contain.  Dry  seasons  also  lower  the  sugar  content,  because 
the  joints  are  shorter  and  the  juice  more  scanty.  In  order 
to  insure  a  plentiful  supply  of  water,  the  crop  is  quite  com- 
monly irrigated. 

591.  Countries  Which  Produce  Sugar  Cane.  The  pro- 
duction of  sugar  cane  is  confined  entirely  to  tropical  and  semi- 
tropical  regions,  as  the  crop  requires  a  long,  hot  season  with 
plenty  of  moisture  for  its  best  growth.  The  world's  pro- 
duction of  cane  sugar  averaged  about  10,950,000  short  tons  of 
2,000  pounds  each  during  the  five  years  from  1911  to  1915, 
inclusive.  Of  this  enormous  quantity,  Asia  produced  nearly 
half,  or  4,874,000  tons.  The  leading  Asiatic  countries  in 
sugar  production  are  British  India,  with  2,776,000  tons,  and 
Java,  with  1,521,000  tons.  North  America  ranks  next  to 
Asia  in  production,  with  4,456,000  tons,  of  which  Cuba  pro- 
duced more  than  half,  or  2,741,000  tons.  The  production  in 
the  continental  United  States  averaged  only  242,000  tons; 
Hawaii  produced  about  598,000  tons,  and  Porto  Rico, 
393,000  tons.  Various  South  American  countries  contributed 
856,000  tons  to  the  world's  total,  Africa  508,000  tons,  and 
Australasia  314,000  tons.  In  the  United  States,  the  produc- 
tion of  sugar  from  cane  is  confined  almost  entirely  to  southern 
Louisiana,  though  a  small  quantity  is  produced  in  Texas. 
It  is  grown  in  small  patches  in  all  the  Southern  states  for  the 
production  of  sirup.     It  is  locally  known  as  "ribbon  cane." 

592.  Propagation.  Sugar  cane  is  propagated  from  sec- 
tions of  the  stalks.  When  these  sections  are  planted,  new 
stalks  grow  from  the  buds  at  the  base  of  each  leaf.  There  is 
considerable  difference  in  the  freedom  with  which  different 
varieties  grow  from  these  buds;  some  grow  from  buds  any- 


SOILS  AND  FERTILIZERS  433 

where  on  the  stalk,  others  only  from  those  near  the  top. 
The  cane  is  usually  cut  into  sections  containing  one  or  more 
buds,  but  sometimes  the  whole  cane  is  planted.  As  the  food 
stored  in  the  stalk  is  used  by  the  young  plant  till  it  becomes 
established,  it  is  desirable  to  have  the  stalk  in  as  good  con- 
dition as  possible.  The  canes  of  some  varieties  are  very 
brittle  and  crack  readily  when  cut,  allowing  disease  and 
decay  to  enter,  hence  the  entire  stalk  is  planted  to  avoid  this 
loss.  The  tops  are  best  for  propagation,  as  they  grow  most 
readily  and  crack  less. 

In  sections  where  frosts  do  not  occur,  the  crop  can  be 
grown  from  the  old  stools  for  several  years  by  splitting  them 
intc  sections  with  a  sharp  plow  or  a  tool  specially  devised 
for  the  purpose.  In  the  southern  United  States,  it  is  neces- 
sary to  protect  the  canes  from  frost  by  cutting  them  in  the 
fall  and  storing  them  over  winter  in  a  moist,  cool  place. 
The  location  should  not  be  wet  enough  to  cause  the  stalks  to 
rot,  nor  cold  enough  so  that  they  will  freeze.  The  stalks 
are  usually  laid  in  piles  and  covered  with  the  leaves  which 
have  been  stripped  from  them.  Sometimes  they  are  laid 
in  windrows  between  the  rows  from  which  they  were  har- 
vested and  covered  bj^  plowing  furrows  upon  them.  In  this 
case,  the  leaves  are  left  on.  This  method  of  storing  is  satis- 
factory only  in  favorable  seasons.  In  wet  or  cold  years,  it 
13  quite  likely  to  result  in  severe  loss  of  the  seed  canes.  The 
seed  canes  should  be  selected  from  places  where  the  growth 
is  good  and  which  are  as  free  as  possible  from  disease. 

593.  Soils  and  Fertilizers.  Ordinary  good  soil  is  suit- 
able for  the  production  of  sugar  cane.  The  land  should  be 
well  drained,  but  should  be  so  situated  that  it  can  be  irri- 
gated readily.  When  the  rainfall  is  very  heav^^  irrigation 
may  be  unnecessary,  but  it  is  well  to  provide  for  it  in  case 
of  need.  Open  ditches  are  ordinarily  used  for  drainage. 
The  land  should  be  plowed  very  deep,  the  deeper  the  better, 
even  up  to  20  or  24  inches.     Traction  plows  are  quite  gen- 


434  FIELD  CROPS 

erally  used  in  plowing,  as  the  work  is  too  heavy  for  horises. 
Quite  frequently,  however,  large  mules  are  used  in  prepar- 
ing the  land  and  cultivating  the  crop.  The  demand  for  the 
largest  and  best  mules  on  the  sugar  plantations  is  so  great 
that  they  are  commonly  known  on  the  market  as  "sugar 
mules."  After  the  plowing  is  done,  good  surface  tillage  is 
given  till  planting  time.  Stable  manure  is  the  best  fertilizer, 
but  it  is  not  often  available  in  large  quantities.  As  most  of 
the  potash  and  phosphorus  removed  by  the  crop  is  returned 
in  the  ashes  and  waste  from  the  sugar  mills,  nitrogen  is  the 
only  element  of  fertility  which  it  is  necessary  to  purchase  in 
quantity.  Sugar,  the  only  product  removed,  is  composed  of 
carbon  and  water,  hence  it  takes  nothing  from  the  land. 
Nitrogen  is  lost  in  the  burning  of  the  stalks  and  leaves. 

594.  Planting.  Sugar  cane  is  planted  by  laying  the 
stalks  in  furrows  from  4  to  6  feet  apart.  If  the  seed  canes  are 
in  good  condition,  2  feet  apart  in  the  row  is  thick  enough  to 
plant  the  pieces  of  stalks  to  obtain  a  good  stand ;  if  its  con- 
dition is  poor,  thicker  planting  is  necessary.  The  ordinary 
method  is  to  lay  the  cane  horizontally  in  the  fmTow  and 
cover  it  with  a  small  plow  or  cultivator.  Sometimes  the  crop 
is  planted  in  hills  by  sticking  the  sections  of  stalks  diagon- 
ally into  the  ground  with  the  upper  end  slightly  above  the 
surface,  while,  if  particularly  quick  germination  is  wanted, 
they  are  planted  upright  with  the  buds  above  the  surface. 

595.  Cultivation.  Sugar  cane  is  cultivated  frequently 
to  keep  it  clean  of  weeds  and  to  insure  rapid  growth.  As  it  is 
not  planted  in  check  rows,  it  is  usually  necessary  to  do  some 
hand  hoeing  to  remove  the  weeds  within  the  rows.  The 
cultivator  used  is  usually  of  the  toothed  or  shovel  type, 
though  in  recent  years  disk  cultivators  have  come  into 
favor  in  some  sections.  Cultivation  is  continued  till  the 
ground  between  the  rows  is  entirely  shaded  by  the  crop. 

596.  Harvesting.  The  total  sugar  content  of  the  stalk 
increases  up  to  a  certain  stage  of  ripeness,  which  can  only 


EXTRACTING  BEET  JUICE  435 

be  determined  accurately  by  chemical  analyses  of  sample 
stalks.  Naturally,  it  is  important  to  harvest  when  the 
stalks  contain  the  maximum  quantity  of  sugar.  Though 
chemical  analysis  is  more  certain,  the  grower  learns  to  de- 
termine the  best  date  for  cutting  quite  accurately  by  the 
appearance  of  the  stalk  and  the  stage  of  grow^th.  For  econ- 
omy of  production,  it  is  desirable  to  continue  the  operation 
of  the  sugar  mill  over  as  long  a  period  as  possible.  As  the 
sugar  content  decreases  quite  rapidly  after  the  maximum 
is  reached  and  after  the  cane  is  cut,  planters  extend  the 
season  by  planting  varieties  which  ripen  at  different  times, 
by  planting  on  different  types  of  soil,  or  by  extending  the 
planting  season  over  a  considerable  period. 

The  usual  method  of  harvesting  is  to  strip  the  canes  and 
cut  them  off  close  to  the  ground  with  a  knife.  Machines  for 
harvesting  have  been  devised,  but  they  have  not  proven 
satisfactory.  As  the  canes  begin  to  lose  their  sugar  rapidly 
within  24  hours  after  cutting,  they  are  usually  hauled  from 
the  field  to  the  mill  as  soon  as  cut.  Numerous  methods 
of  transportation  are  in  use,  including  boats,  wagons,  and 
tramways.  One  of  the  most  common  methods  in  large  fields 
is  the  use  of  a  light,  movable  track  with  cars  drawn  by  a 
small  steam  engine.  The  cane  is  usually  loaded  upon  wagons 
by  hand ;  it  is  then  loaded  into  the  cars  by  the  use  of  a  derrick 
and  is  unloaded  in  the  same  way  at  the  mill. 

597.  Extracting  the  Juice.  The  juice  is  extracted  from 
the  stalks  by  means  of  heavy  rollers.  The  stalks  are  first 
shredded  by  revolving  cylinders  set  with  numerous  pegs  or 
spikes,  and  then  pass  between  rollers  which  crush  out  about 
75  per  cent  of  the  juice.  They  then  pass  on  to  another  set 
of  rollers,  on  the  way  to  which  they  are  sprayed  wiih  the 
heated  juice  from  the  third  and  last  set  The  second  set  of 
rollers  removes  about  10  per  cent  of  the  juice,  and  the  stalks 
then  pass  to  the  third  set.  On  the  way,  the  canes  are  sprayed 
with  hot  water.    The  third  set  of  rollers  crushes  out  about 


436  FIELD  CKOPii 

5  per  cent  of  the  total  juice.  The  crushed  stalks  (bagasse) 
are  then  carried  on  a  conveyor  to  the  furnaces.  Ordinarily, 
the  bagasse  supplies  sufficient  fuel  to  run  the  mill. 

598.  Making  the  Sugar.  The  methods  of  manufacturing 
cane  sugar  are  not  very  different  from  those  already  described 
for  beet  sugar.  The  juice  is  first  heated  and  then  purified 
by  the  addition  of  milk  of  lime,  after  which  it  is  skimmed  and 
filtered  to  remove  the  solids  which  have  united  with  the  lime. 
This  refuse  is  returned  to  the  fields  as  fertilizer,  as  it  contains 
a  large  part  of  the  phosphorus  and  potash  removed  by  the 
crop.  After  it  has  been  purified,  the  juice  is  concentrated 
by  boiling  in  a  series  of  vacuum  pans  and  is  finally  crystal- 
hzed  in  a  larger  pan  of  the  same  kind.  The  sugar  is  then 
dried  and  packed  for  market.  The  by-products  of  manu- 
facture and  the  various  grades  of  sugar,  sirup,  and  molasses 
are  little  different  from  those  made  from  sugar  beets. 

LABORATORY  AND  FIELD  EXERCLSES 

1.  A  few  sugar  beets  may  be  grown  in  different  plats  of  different 
soils  and  with  different  fertilizers  on  the  same  soil.  Write  out  the 
results  fully  and  carefully.  Show  how  many  pounds  could  be  raised 
on  an  acre  under  each  condition,  if  the  plat  average  were  maintained. 

2.  Those  who  are  interested  in  the  production  of  sugar  cane  should 
visit  a  cane  mill,  if  possible,  and  become  familiar  with  its  various  pro- 
cesses and  products. 

3.  Does  your  community  and  your  state  produce  as  much  sugar 
as  it  uses? 

REFERENCES 

Cyclopedia  of  American  Agriculture,  Vol.  II,  Bailey. 

Farm  Crops,  Burkett. 

Southern  Field  Crops,  Duggar. 

Forage  and  Fiber  Crops  of  America,  Hunt. 

Field  Crop  Production,  Livingston. 

The  American  Sugar  Industry,  Myrick. 

Farmers'  Cyclopedia  of  Agricultiu-e,  Wilcox  and  Smith. 

Sugar  Beet  Seed,  Palmer. 

Sugar  Growing  in  the  U.S.,  Harris. 


CHAPTER  XXIV 

FIBER  PLANTS 

599,  Classes  of  Fibers.  The  fibers  we  use  are  obtained 
from  two  general  sources,  animal  and  vegetable.  Only  two 
kinds  of  animal  fiber  are  in  common  use,  wool  and-  silk,  but 
there  are  numerous  classes  of  vegetable  fiber.  The  usual 
definition  of  the  word  ''fiber"  makes  it  include  not  only  the 
material  used  for  spinning,  but  also  that  used  for  upholster- 
ing, weaving,  and  the  making  of  paper.  A  classification  of 
fiber  according  to  use,  as  made  by  the  Office  of  Fiber  Investi- 
gations of  the  U.  S.  Department  of  Agriculture,  includes 
spinning  fibers,  tie  materials,  natural  textures,  brush  fiber, 
plaiting  and  rough  weaving  fiber,  various  forms  of  filUng,  and 
paper  material.  Of  these,  the  most  important  are  the  spin- 
ning fiber  and  paper  material.  Spinning  fiber  includes  all 
grades  from  those  made  into  the  finest  thread  to  the  largest 
ropes.  It  is  only  the  class  of  plants  used  prmcipally  for  the 
production  of  spinning  fiber  that  will  be  considered  here, 
though  these  plants  may  also  be  used  for  several  of  the  other 
purposes  mentioned. 

600.  What  Spinning  Fiber  Is.  Fibers,  or  wood  cells,  are 
an  important  part  of  all  plants.  The  young,  growing  parts 
of  plants  are  made  up  of  soft-walled  cells  which  have  little 
strength  and  soon  decay  when  removed  or  when  the  plant 
dies.  The  cells  of  the  older  and  more  permanent  parts  have 
thick,  tough  walls,  and  are  of  two  kinds.  One  kind  is  placed 
end  to  end  without  partitions,  forming  continuous  channels 
or  ducts  through  the  stems  and  other  parts  of  the  plant,  thus 
providing  for  the  movement  of  water  and  plant  food.  ^  The 
other  is  the  wood  fiber  cells,  which  are  elongated,  spindle- 
shaped,  and  overlap  each  other  so  as  to  form  a  continuous 

437 


438  FIELD  0R0P8 

bundle.  These  ceils  make  up  what  are  known  as  the  fibro- 
vascular  bundles,  which  give  strength  and  stabiUty  to  the 
plant.  The  woody  parts  of  trees  and  shrubs  are  made  up  of 
these  bundles,  as  are  also  the  fibrous  portions  of  the  stems  of 
annual  plants.  Some  plants  produce  simple  cells  on  the 
surface  of  the  seeds  and  other  parts,  which  are  called  surface 
fibers  and  are  sometimes  of  value  for  textile  purposes. 

The  more  important  textile*  fibers  are  either  bast  fibers, 
from  the  inner  bark  of  such  plants  as  flax  and  hemp,  or  sur- 
face fibers,  from  cotton.  In  addition,  some  textile  fiber  is 
obtained  from  the  leaves  and  leaf-stems  of  certain  plants,  such 
as  sisal  and  manila  hemp.  By  far  the  most  unportant  of  the 
plants  which  produce  spinning  fiber  is  cotton.  The  only 
othei*s  which  are  grown  in  the  United  States  to  any  extent 
are  flax  and  hemp,  and  flax  is  grown  almost  entirely  for  seed. 

COTTON 
DESCRIPTION  AND  CLASSIFICATION 

601.  Origin  and  History.  The  most  important  species 
of  cotton,  the  ordinary  upland  type  grown  in  our  Southern 
states,  is  supposed  to  be  a  native  of  southeastern  Asia.  Its 
general  cultivation  is  of  comparatively  recent  date,  as  it  has 
been  grown  in  China  for  only  ten  or  twelve  centuries,  while 
its  cultivation  within  the  United  States  dates  back  but  a 
century  and  a  half.  The  importance  of  cotton  as  a  fiber  plant 
was  decidedly  limited,  on  account  of  the  difficulty  of  sepa- 
rating the  fiber,  or  lint,  from  the  seed,  till  the  invention 
of  the  cotton  gin  in  1792  by  Eli  Whitney,  an  American. 
Before  that  time,  it  had  been  grown  to  some  extent  in  Egypt 
and  India,  but  had  never  been  a  serious  competitor  of  wool 
and  flax.  The  Indians  of  tropical  America  cultivated  cotton 
at  the  time  of  the  discovery  of  the  New  World,  but  they 
made  little  use  of  it.  While  it  was  introduced  into  the  South- 
ern states  before  the  Revolutionary  War,  its  cultivation  did 
not  become  general  there  till  after  the  beginning  of  the  nine- 


BOTANICAL  DESCRIPTION  OF  COTTON  439 

teenth  century.    Since  that  time  the  growth  of  the  industry 
has  been  rapid.     (Section  607.)  .    '.  \.  i 

602  Botanical  Description.  Cotton  belongs  to  the  Mal- 
vaceae, or  mallow,  family,  and  is  the  only  member  of  that 
family  which  is  an  important  cultivated  plant.  There  is 
a  number  of  species  of  cotton,  ranging  in  form  from"  bushy 
herbs  to  trees.  They  are  all  natives  of  tropical  regions  and 
are  probably  all  perennials,  though  the  cotton  which  is 
grown  in  the  United  States  has  been  developed  into  an 

annual.  ,,«.',  x 

The  ordinary  upland  cotton,  of  which  by  far  the  greater 
part  of  the  crop  consists,  is  Gossypium  hirsutum.     It  is  a 
vigorous  annual  plant,  with  a  branching,  upright  stem  and  a 
taproot  with   numerous  lateral  branches.     The  depth  to 
which  the  taproot   penetrates  varies   greatly  m   difierent 
soils     In  sandy  soils  it  may  reach  a  depth  of  2  feet  or  more, 
while  in  heavy  clay  it  may  be  only  a  few  inches  long  or  al- 
most entirely  lacking.     The  laterals  or  feeding  roots  are 
only  a  few  inches  below  the  surface.     The  stem  grows  from 
2  to  6  feet  high,  according  to  the  variety,  the  soil,  and  the 
season.     The  usual  height  is  from  2}^  to  3^  feet.     The 
length  and  number  of  the  branches  and  the  length  of  the 
internodes,  or  '^joints,"  depend  on  the  same  factors  as  the 
height  of  the  plant.  . 

The  leaves  of  cotton  are  alternate,  from  3  to  6  mches  long, 
with  a  width  shghtly  less  than  the  length,  the  lower  ones 
heart-shaped,  the  upper  more  or  less  three  or  five-lobed. 
The  flowers  are  large  and  showy,  being  from  3  to  4  inches 
across  They  are  white  when  they  first  open,  but  turn  rosy 
pink  on  the  second  day,  so  that  a  field  in  bloom  is  very  at- 
tractive.    Cotton  is  commonly  open-pollinated. 

The  fruit,  or  ''boll,"  is  enclosed  by  leafy  bracts  when 
small,  and  is'  then  commonly  known  as  the  ''square.''  It 
finally  develops  into  a  pointed,  somewhat  egg-shaped  body, 
about  the  size  of  a  small  hen's  egg,  closely  packed  with  seeds 


440  FIELD  CROPS 

and  lint.  It  is  composed  of  three  to  five  cells.  When  ripe, 
the  boll  tui'ns  brown  and  the  cells  separate  along  the  central 
axis  and  also  spUt  down  the  back,  so  that  the  Unt  and  seeds 
are  exposed.  The  seeds,  which  are  about  three  eighths  of  an 
inch  long  and  half  as  wide,  are  thickly  covered  with  lint 
and  fiiie  fuzz.  The  lint,  which  is  the  cotton  of  commerce, 
is  from  seven  eighths  to  one  and  one  half  inches  long  in  the 
ordinary  varieties,  the  fuzz,  or  linters,  one  fourth  inch  or  less. 
The  seed  consists  of  a  thick  seed  coat,  or  hull,  and  an  oily 
yellowish-white  kernel. 

603.  Other  Species.  Sea  Island  cotton,  Gossypium  bar- 
badense,  differs  from  the  ordinaiy  type  in  that  it  grows  taller, 
has  longer  branches,  yellow  flowers,  longer  and  finer  fiber, 
and  seeds  free  from  fuzz.  It  is  growm  in  the  West  Indies 
and  on  the  islands  and  lower  lands  along  the  coast  of  the 
Carolinas  and  Georgia.  Egyptian  cotton  is  generally  re- 
garded a  variety  of  G.  barbadense.  It  has  a  long,  strong 
fiber  and  is  very  similar  in  many  ways  to  Sea  Island  cotton. 
It  is  grown  largely  in  Egypt,  and  has  recently  been  grown 
successfully  under  irrigation  in  Arizona,  and  southern  Cali- 
fornia. India  cotton,  Gossypium  herbaceum  has  more  slender 
stems  than  the  ordinaiy  upland  tj^pe,  leaves  with  rounded 
lobes,  and  smaller,  less  pointed  bolls.  The  lint  may  be 
white,  yellow,  or  brown.  Its  cultivation  is  confined  to 
southern  Asia. 

604.  Cotton  Fiber,  or  Lint.  The  cotton  of  commerce  is 
the  lint,  or  surface  fibers,  with  which  the  seed  is  covered. 
The  individual  strands  or  fibers  consist  of  single  cells,  ranging 
from  3^  to  2J/^  inches  long  in  the  different  varieties.  Each 
fiber  or  cell  is  much  twisted,  a  feature  which  distinguishes 
it  from  other  fibers.  It  is  estimated  that  there  are  some- 
times as  many  as  five  hundred  twists  to  the  inch.  The  fiber 
is  very  strong  for  its  size  and  can  be  woven  into  a  very  fine 
thread,  though  not  as  fine  or  as  strong  as  silk.  The  value  of 
the  lint  depends  on  its  color,  cleanness,  length,  and  strength. 


VARIETIES  OF  COTTON 


441 


The  importance  of  cotton  as  a  textile  material  is  due  largel^^ 
to  its  cheapness  and  durabiUty. 

Ordinary  varieties  of  upland  cotton  yield  about  1  pound 
of  lint  to  each  3  pounds  of  seed  cotton;  that  is,  3  pounds  of 
seed  cotton  will  yield  one  third,  or  33  per  cent,  of  its  weight  in 
lint.  The  usual  variation  is  between  30  and  35  per  cent, 
though  nearly  40  per 
cent  is  occasionally  ob- 
tained. Sea  Island  and 
Egyptian  cotton  yield 
rather  less,  only  about 
30  per  cent.  Long- 
staple  upland,  a  type 
with  specially  long, 
strong  lint,  yields  less 
Unt  than  ordinary  up- 
land, but  the  value  per 
pound  is  much  greater. 
605.  Varieties.  The 
varieties  of  cotton  are 
nimierous,  probably  as 
many  as  two   hundred 

names  being  known  in  the  United  States,  though  not  all  rep- 
resent distinct  varieties.  They  differ  in  length  of  lint,  earli- 
ness,  productiveness,  size  of  boll,  and  other  features.  The 
principal  classes  are  the  short-limb,  or  King,  type,  the  big- 
boll  type,  and  the  long-staple  type.  The  productiveness 
and  earUness  of  cotton  depend  to  a  considerable  extent  on 
the  length  of  the  internodes  and  the  length  of  the  branches. 
The  limbs  appear  in  the  axils  of  the  leaves  along  the  main 
stem  and  the  flowers  are  produced  on  the  secondary  branches 
which  grow  from  these  main  limbs.  A  type  of  plant  with 
limbs  close  to  the  ground  and  with  short  joints  is  ordinarily 
earlier  and  more  productive  than  one  with  fewer  and  longer 
Umbs. 


Figure  145. 


Au  open  cotton 
pickinp. 


boll    ready  fr)r 


442  FIELD  CROPS 

The  King  type  is  early  in  maturing,  is  short-limbed,  and 
produces  small  bolls.  The  big-boll  type  grows  larger  and 
ranker,  the  bolls  are  larger,  and  the  crop  is  later  in  maturing. 
Long-staple  cotton  produces  uniformly  longer  and  more  valu- 
able lint  than  the  ordinary  upland  varieties.  The  small- 
boiled  cottons  pick  easily  but  are  readilj^  damaged  by  storms, 
as  the  outer  covering  of  the  boll,  the  "burr,"  is  thin  and  curls 
backward  as  the  boll  opens,  exposing  the  seed  cotton  and 
giving  it  Uttle  support.  On  the  other  hand,  the  burr  of  the 
big-boll  tj^pe  remains  flat  and  supports  the  seed  cotton  so 
that  it  is  not  easily  dislodged.  Among  the  better  known 
varieties  of  the  small-boll  type  are  the  Welborn,  Peterkin, 
and  King,  while  the  big-boll,  or  storm-proof,  type  includes 
Russell,  Truitt,  Texas  Storm-proof,  and  Jones  Improved. 
The  best  known  of  the  long-staple  varieties  are  Allen,  Griffin, 
and  Cook, 

IMPORTANCE  OF  THE  CROP 

606.  Importance  of  the  Crop.  Cotton  is  not  only  the 
most  important  textile  plant  of  the  world,  but  it  is  one  of  the 
most  important  of  the  world's  crops,  for  it  furnishes  man>' 
valuable  products  in  addition  to  the  lint  from  which  cotton 
fabrics  are  made.  The  world's  production  of  cotton  is  about 
21,000,000  bales  or  about  10,000,000,000  pounds  of  lint 
annually.  The  average  annual  production  for  the  five  years 
from  1906  to  1910  was  21,462,500  bales,  of  which  nearly 
three  fifths  was  produced  in  North  America,  more  than  three 
tenths  in  Asia,  and  about  one  fourteenth  in  Africa.  Prac- 
tically the  entire  crop  of  North  America  was  produced  in 
the  United  States,  the  average  annual  production  for  the 
five  years  being  11,847,270  bales.  India  ranks  next  to  the 
United  States  in  the  production  of  cotton,  with  a  crop  of 
3,778,320  bales;  Egypt  follows  with  1,381,345  bales;  and 
China  with  1,200,000  bales.  No  other  country  is  an  impor- 
tant factor  in  the  production  of  cotton. 


PRODUCTION  OF  COTTON 


443 


607.  Production  in  the  United  States.  The  mciease  m 
the  production  of  cotton  in  the  United  States  since  the  be- 
ginning of  the  nineteenth  century  is  one  of  our  most  re- 
markable records  of  progress.  There  has  been  a  continual 
increase  in  the  production  of  cotton  since  1800,  except  in 
the  decade  from  1861  to  1870,  when  the  war  between  the 
states  practically  demoralized  the  cotton  industiy  of  the 
South.  The  crop  of  1864  was  less  than  300,000  bales,  though 
five  years  previous  the  production  reached  4,500,000  bales. 
In  the  decade  from  1870  to  1880  there  was  a  gradual  recovery- 
in  the  industry,  the  average  production  being  more  than 
4,000,000  bales.  Since  then,  the  increase  has  been  about 
2,500,000  bales  annually  for  each  decade. 

Figure  146  shows  that  the  production  of  cotton  is  con- 
fined almost  entirely  to  the  Southeastern  states.  The  aver- 
age area  in  cotton  from  1908  to  1917  was  34,006,000  acres. 
The  annual  production  of  the  United  States  was  12,813,000 
bales,  and  the  average  annual  value  of  the  crop  about  $828,- 
118,000.  More  than  three  tenths  of  the  cotton  acreage  of 
the  United  States  is  in  Texas.  This  state  produced  more 
than  one  fourth  of  the  cotton  crop  of  the  country  and  more 

Table  XX.  Average  acreage,  yield  per  acre,  and  total  productio7i 
in  hales  of  cotton  in  the  ten  lead  hi  g  states  during  (he  ten  years  from 
1908  to  1917,  inclusive. 


State 

Acreage 

Acre    yield 

Total  yield 

Texas 

Acres 

10,881,000 
5,111,000 
2,689,000 
3,490,000 
3,100,000 
2,350,000 
2,515,000 
1,475,000 
1,159,000 
817,000 
419,000 

Pounds 

163 
192 
220 
159 
176 
188 
164 
242 
165 
193 
198 

Bales 

3,713,000 

Georgia 

2,063,000 

South  Carolina 

1,248,000 

Alabama 

Mississippi 

Arkansas 

1,193,000 

1,047,000 

923,000 

Oklahoma 

North  Carolina 

866,000 
754,000 

Louisiana 

Tennessee 

All  others 

402,000 
330,000 
174,000 

United  States 

34,006,000 

179.2 

12,813,000 

444  FIELD  CROPS 

than  15  per  cent  of  that  of  the  entire  world.  Georgia,  Soutli 
Carolina,  Alabama,  and  Mississippi  ranked  next  in  the  order 
named.  In  addition  to  the  states  shown  in  Figure  146  and 
in  Table  XX  cotton  is  produced  in  Virginia,  Florida,  Mis- 
souri, Arizona,  and  California.  The  average  acreage,  yield 
per  acre,  and  total  production  of  cotton  in  the  ten  leading 
States  during  the  ten  years  from  1908  to  1917  are  shown  in 
Table  XX. 

28.98% 


TEXAS 

GEORGIA 

S.  C. 

ALA. 

MISS. 

ARK. 

OKLA. 

■■  16.10% 

N.  C. 

LA. 

^HH  3.14% 

TENN. 

BH  2.58% 

AU  Others 

■■  1.35% 

Figure  146. — Percentage  of  the  cotton  crop  produced  in  each  of  the  states  of  largest 
production,  1908-1917. 

More  than  two  fifths  of  the  improved  land  in  farms  in 
South  Carolina  and  nearly  two  fifths  of  that  in  Texas, 
Georgia,  Alabama,  and  Mississippi  is  devoted  to  cotton. 
About  7  per  cent  of  the  improved  farm  land  in  the  United 
States  is  planted  to  cotton,  though  its  production  is  prac- 
tically confined  to  the  ten  Southeastern  states.  The  total 
acreage  of  oats,  a  crop  which  is  grown  to  some  extent  in  every 
state,  is  only  slightly  larger  than  that  of  cotton,  while  the 
acreage  in  wheat  is  less  than  one  and  one  half  times  the  cotton 
acreage.  Corn  is  grown  on  more  than  three  times  as  much 
land  as  cotton. 

The  average  annual  yield  per  acre  for  the  entire  United 
States  for  the  period  from  1908  to  1917  was  179.2  pounds. 
The  lowest  acre  yield,  159  pounds,  was  that  of  Alabama,  while 
the  highest  yield  in  the  ten  important  states  was  shown  by 
North  Carolina,  242  pounds.  Of  the  annual  crop  of  nearly 
13,000,000  bales,  about  five  eighths  is  exported. 


SOILS  AND  FERTILIZERS  445 

SOILS  AND  FERTILIZERS 

608.  Soils  Adapted  to  Cotton.  The  best  crops  of  cotton 
are  produced  on  the  rich  alluvial  loams  of  the  Mississippi 
Valley  and  the  heavy  clay  loams  of  Texas.  Cotton  grows 
well,  however,  on  a  wide  variety  of  soils,  from  the  sands  and 
light  loams  of  the  Carolina  coast  to  the  closest  and  stickiest 
of  clay  soils.  Its  growth  and  productiveness  are  largely  influ- 
enced by  the  physical  character  of  the  soil  and  its  fertility, 
and  by  the  available  supply  of  moisture.  On  rich,  wet  land 
a  very  heavy  growth  of  stalks  and  leaves  is  produced,  often 
at  the  expense  of  seed  production,  so  that  the  yield  of  lint 
may  be  less  than  on  less  fertile  or  on  drier  land.  On  the 
average,  the  largest  yields  of  lint  are  produced  on  clay  and 
alluvial  loams  with  a  moderate  rainfall. 

609.  Fertilizers  and  Manures.  Because  cotton  is  grown 
on  so  large  a  proportion  of  the  cultivated  land  of  the  Southern 
states  and  because  no  regular  rotation  is  generally  followed, 
this  crop  is  often  planted  on  the  same  field  for  several  years 
in  succession.  This  practice,  however,  is  much  less  com- 
mon now  than  it  was  a  few  years  ago.  On  account  of  the  con- 
stant growing  of  the  same  crop  on  the  land  with  little  or  no 
effort  to  keep  up  the  supply  of  vegetable  matter  and  plant 
food,  many  of  the  fields  are  now  more  or  less  exhausted,  so 
that  they  must  be  fertilized  highly  to  produce  a  good  crop. 
\Vhenever  possible,  a  regular  rotation  should  be  followed 
which  includes  a  leguminous  crop  to  supply  nitrogen.  A 
number  of  excellent  crops  for  this  purpose  are  available,  in- 
cluding the  cowpea,  soy  bean,  crimson  clover,  and  velvet 
bean.  Increasing  the  supply  of  vegetable  matter  and  adopt- 
ing a  proper  system  of  crop  rotation  are  the  most  effective 
methods  of  increasing  cotton  yields. 

When  the  nitrogen  is  supplied  by  a  leguminous  crop  which 
precedes  cotton,  less  of  this  eleme?it  need  be  added  in  the 
form  of  commercial  fertilizers.  The  use  of  a  complete  fer- 
tilizer is  advised  in  all  cases  when  the  soil  shows  a  tendency 


446  FIELD  CROPS 

to  become  exhausted  and  when  leguminous  crops  are  not 
grown.  Cotton  seed  was  formerly  largely  used,  but  the 
ready  market  for  it  afforded  by  the  oil  mills  has  led  to  the 
substitution  of  other  materials.  As  the  oil  in  the  seed  is  of 
no  value  as  a  fertilizer,  the  use  of  whole  seed  for  this  purpose 
is  wasteful.  A  popular  fertihzer  normally  is  cottonseed 
meal,  as  it  contains  a  good  supply  of  nitrogen  and  some 
potash  and  phosphoric  acid.  It  should  generally  be  supple- 
mented with  acid  phosphate  and  muriate  of  potash,  if  avail- 
able, while  a  small  quantity  of  nitrate  of  soda  helps  the 
early  growth  of  the  crop. 

Barnyard  manure  is  used  to  some  extent  for  cotton,  but 
the  available  supply  is  usually  limited,  as  the  number  of 
live  stock  kept  on  Southern  farms  is  relatively  small  and 
that  which  is  kept  is  confined  for  only  a  small  portion 
of  the  year,  so  that  most  of  the  manure  is  dropped  on  the 
pastures. 

GROWING  THE  CROP 

610.  Preparation  of  the  Land.  The  methods  of  prepar- 
ing the  land  for  cotton  vary  somewhat  with  different  soils 
and  in  different  sections,  but  the  general  plan  is  about  as 
follows:  The  land  is  ''bedded"  early  in  the  spring,  that  is, 
narrow  beds  are  made  by  throwing  together  two  furrows  with 
a  small  plow,  alternating  with  narrow  unplowed  strips. 
Where  the  land  was  in  cotton  or  corn  the  previous  year,  the 
''bed"  is  made  between  the  old  rows.  The  stalks  are  either 
cut  up  with  a  stalk  cutter  or  are  gathered  and  burned.  Bed- 
ding helps  to  aerate  and  wami  the  soil  and  the  furrows  give 
drainage,  so  that  it  is  advisable  on  poorty  drained  land. 
Later,  but  before  planting  time,  additional  furrows  are 
thrown  upon  these  beds  from  each  side,  but  the  entire  mid- 
dle is  sometimes  not  broken  out  till  the  first  cultivation. 

When  commercial  fertilizer  is  applied,  it  is  either  sown 
broadcast  on  the  field  before  bedding,  or  it  is  distributed 


PLANTING  COTTON  447 

along  the  rows  and  the  beds  thrown  on  it  a  week  or  ten  days 
before  planting.  The  latter  practice  is  the  more  common 
one.  It  is  sometunes  sown  m  the  furrows  at  the  time  of 
planting,  though  some  of  the  fertihzers  which  are  used  are 
hkely  to  injure  the  seed  if  they  come  in  contact  with  it. 
Land  is  not  always  plowed  before  it  is  planted  to  cotton, 
though  in  recent  years  the  practice  of  plowing  and  planting 
flat  as  com  is  commonly  planted  has  come  into  use  in  some 
sections.  Fall  plowing  is  frequently  not  advisable,  on  ac- 
count of  the  loss  from  leaching  or  erosion.  The  growing  of 
a  winter  cover  crop  on  cotton  lands  is  an  excellent  practice. 
When  a  cover  crop  such  as  bur  clover  or  vetch  is  grown,  the 
land  is  plowed  early  in  the  spring  and  the  cotton  is  planted 
either  without  bedding  or  low  beds  are  made  a  few  days 
before  planting.  In  nearly  all  cases,  larger  yields  are  ob- 
tained by  plowing  the  land  from  6  to  8  inches  deep  early 
in  the  spring  and  harrowing  and  disking  it  every  few  days 
till  planting  time  than  by  the  methods  in  common  use. 

611.  Planting.  The  best  grade  of  cottonseed  which  can 
be  obtained  should  be  used  for  planting.  Good,  heavy  seed 
is  just  as  important  a  factor  in  obtaining  good  yields  of  cotton 
as  it  is  m  corn  or  the  small  grains.  The  ordinary  practice 
of  taking  the  regular  run  of  cottonseed  as  it  comes  from  the 
gin,  storing  it  with  little  or  no  attention  over  winter,  and  then 
planting  heavily  in  the  spring  to  assure  a  stand,  is  a  bad  one. 
While  the  extra  seed  has  some  value  as  a  fertilizer,  it  is  much 
more  profitable  to  sell  it  and  to  use  some  other  fertilizer. 

Instead  of  taking  the  ''gin-run"  of  seed  for  planting, 
the  best  portion  of  the  field  should  be  picked  by  itself  each 
fall,  preferably  at  the  earher  pickings.  This  cotton  should 
be  ginned  separately  and  the  seed  brought  back  to  the  farm 
for  planting  the  following  spring.  The  seed  should  be  spread 
out  in  a  thin  layer  to  dry,  as  it  heats  readily  when  green  and 
its  germination  is  easily  destroyed.  After  it  is  dry,  it  may  be 
sacked  or  piled  in  bulk,  if  it  is  kept  in  a  diy  place.  It  should 


448  FIELD  CROPS 

be  protected  from  the  weather  and  from  mice  and  rats.  The 
quantity  of  seed  which  is  now  generally  planted  ranges  from 
^  to  1  bushel  to  the  acre.  While  this  is  much  more  seed 
than  is  needed  to  produce  a  good  stand,  the  numerous  plants 
produced  help  to  break  the  crust  which  often  forms  after 
heavy  rains  and  which  might  prevent  entirely  the  emergence 
of  plants  from  thinner  seedings.  Up  to  a  few  years  ago,  it 
was  the  common  practice  to  plant  as  much  as  2  or  3  bushels 
to  the  acre,  but  the  demand  for  the  seed  at  the  oil  mills  has 
led  to  the  discontinuance  of  this  waste. 

The  usual  method  of  planting  is  to  open  a  furrow  in  the 
middle  of  the  bed  with  a  small  plow  and  to  distribute  the 
seed  evenly  in  this  furrow  with  a  one-row  planter.  Attempts 
to  plant  cottonseed  in  hills  have  not  been  very  successful, 
as  the  fuzz  on  the  seeds  causes  them  to  stick  together  and 
prevent  uniform  dropping.  Some  attempts  have  been  made 
to  remove  this  difficulty  by  coating  the  seed  with  flour  paste. 
This  makes  it  possible  to  blow  out  the  light  seed  with  the 
fanning  mill  and  to  plant  with  the  corn  planter.  It  is 
probable  that  the  plan  of  planting  in  hills  as  corn  is  usually 
planted  will  become  much  more  general  in  the  next  few  years. 
The  distance  between  the  rows  ranges  from  23/^  to  5  feet, 
according  to  the  variety  and  the  fertiUty  of  the  soil.  A 
small,  early  variety  of  the  King  type  on  sandy  soil  may  be 
planted  much  closer  than  one  of  the  big-boll  type  on  loam  or 
clay  soils.  The  seed  is  covered  to  a  depth  of  from  1  to  3 
inches,  depending  largely  on  the  nature  of  the  soil.  The 
crop  is  planted  during  April  and  the  first  two  weeks  of  May. 

612.  Cultivation.  The  ordinary  method  of  cultivation 
has  been  to  wait  till  the  plants  reach  a  height  of  2  or  3  inches 
and  then  to  break  out  the  middles  of  the  rows,  which  have 
previously  been  unplowed.  A  little  later,  the  field  is  "barred 
off"  by  running  a  small  plow  or  broad  shovel  close  to  the 
row  and  throwing  the  earth  away  from  it.  About  this  time, 
the  plants  are  thinned  with  the  hoe  to  the  proper  distance  in 


CULTIVATION  OF  COTTON 


449 


the  rows,  this  process  being  known  as  ''chopping  out." 
The  distance  between  the  plants  varies  with  the  width  of 
the  rows  and  the  fertiUty  of  the  soil.  Where  the  plants 
make  only  a  small  growth,  they  should  be  much  closer  to- 
gether than  where  the  growth  is  strong  and  rank.     The 


Bi^^BI 

■■>•■¥"  •^'A 

i^^';,4^  ■'■^^:^^i 

•' 

Figure  147. — Field  of  cotton  ready  for  picking.     Usually  the  first  picking  is 
Imade  before  so  much  of  the  crop  has  opened. 

usual  distance  between  the  plants  is  from  1  to  2  feet.  Later 
cultivation  is  usually  shallow,  for  deep  plowing  cuts  off  many 
of  the  feeding  roots.  In  some  cases,  however,  particularly 
in  weedy  fields,  the  ''turning  plow,"  a  small  moldboard  plow, 
is  used  for  some  of  these  later  cultivations^  often  with  dis- 
astrous results  to  the  crops.  From  three  to  five  cultivations 
and  from  one  to  three  hoeings  are  ordinarily  given. 

Better  cultivation  is  now  generally  given  to  the  cotton 
crop  than  was  the  case  a  few  years  ago.  Two-horse  culti- 
vators are  replacing  the  one-horse  ones  so  long  in  use,  and 
the  harrow  and  the  weeder  are  more  generally  used  early  in 


450  FIELD  CROPS 

the  season.  These  tools  pull  out  some  of  the  young  plants, 
but  usually  they  are  much  thicker  than  is  necessary  and  those 
that  are  pulled  out  with  the  harrow  will  not  have  to  be  hoed 
out  later.  At  the  same  time  large  numbers  of  young  weed 
and  grass  plants  are  killed,  and  the  labor  of  later  cultivations 
is  lessened.  Thin  planting  obviates  much  of  the  work  of 
chopping  out,  and  the  frequent  use  of  the  cultivator  makes 
hand  hoeing  largely  unnecessary.  Shallow  cultivation  with 
flat  blades  or  with  small  shovels  is  taking  the  place  of  deeper 
cultivatio-n  with  large  shovels  or  the  turning  plow.  Culti- 
vation is  now  continued  practically  up  to  the  time  the  bolls 
begin  to  open.  In  this  way,  the  crop  is  kept  growing 
throughout  the  season,  weeds  are  prevented  from  seeding, 
and  the  supply  of  moisture  is  maintained. 

HARVESTING  THE  CROP 

613.  Picking.  As  soon  as  a  considerable  number  of  the 
bolls  have  opened,  picking  is  begun.  This  operation  usually 
begins  in  the  extreme  south  about  August  15,  while  farther 
north  it  may  be  delayed  till  September  15.  Picking  must 
be  done  by  hand,  as  no  satisfactory  machine  for  the  purpose 
has  yet  been  produced,  though  many  attempts  have  been 
made  to  invent  such  a  boon  to  the  cotton  producer.  The 
main  difficulty  with  a  mechanical  picker  is  that  the  crop 
ripens  over  a  considerable  period  of  time  and  all  of  it  can  not 
be  picked  at  once.  The  mechanical  picker  injures  the  plants 
if  it  is  used  when  they  are  yet  growing,  while,  if  the  cotton  is 
left  in  the  field  till  the  end  of  the  season,  much  of  it  will  be 
damaged  by  the  weather. 

When  the  boll  opens,  the  lint  is  easily  dislodged  by  a 
slight  pull  with  the  hand.  Men,  women,  and  children  are 
all  engaged  in  the  work  of  cotton  picking.  The  lint  is  placed 
m  sacks  or  baskets  as  it  is  picked,  and  as  these  are  filled  they 
are  emptied  into  wagons  to  be  hauled  to  the  gin.  In  order 
to  gather  all  the  crop  in  the  best  shape,  three  pickings  are 


GINNING  451 

usually  made,  the  first  as  soon  as  the  earlier  bolls  open,  the 
second  when  the  majority  of  the  bolls  are  ripe,  and  the  third 
after  frost  has  stopped  further  growth.  The  number  of 
pickings  may  be  reduced  to  two  or  may  be  increased,  accord- 
ing to  the  locality  and  the  season.  The  bulk  of  the  crop  is 
usually  gathered  at  the  second  picking.  Picking  is  the  most 
expensive  part  of  cotton  production,  and  the  invention  of  a 
satisfactory  machine  to  do  this  work  would  mean  almost  as 
much  to  the  industry  as  the  invention  of  the  cotton  gin. 

614.  Ginning.  The  next  process  after  the  cotton  is 
picked  is  to  separate  the  seed  from  the  lint.  The  seed  cotton 
is  hauled  to  the  ginnery,  where  the  lint  is  removed  from  the 
seed  and  is  packed  into  bales.  The  type  of  gin  which  is  in 
common  use,  except  in  the  Sea  Island  district,  is  the  saw  gin, 
which  was  invented  by  Eli  Whitney  in  1793,  and  has  since 
been  improved  by  many  other  inventors.  The  seed  cotton 
is  fed  into  a  hopper  at  the  bottom  of  which  are  many  revolv- 
ing saws  mounted  on  a  cylinder.  These  saws  tear  the  lint 
from  the  seed,  the  seed  dropping  down  into  a  chute  and  the 
lint  being  removed  from  the  saws  by  sets  of  brushes  on 
another  revolving  cylinder.  The  lint  is  then  pressed  against 
a  board  by  means  of  an  air  ])last  and  passes  from  the  gin  in 
a  continuous  sheet.  It  is  taken  automatically  to  the  press, 
where  it  is  packed  by  means  of  hydraulic  or  steam  power 
into  a  compact  bale. 

The  seed  cotton  is  usually  drawn  from  the  wagon  to  the 
gins  by  suction  and  automatically  divided  among  the  several 
machines  with  which  each  ginnery  is  provided.  From  these, 
the  lint  cotton  is  all  gathered  into  one  bale,  while  the  seed  is 
carried  to  an  elevator,  so  that  in  a  very  few  minutes  a  wagon 
load  of  seed  cotton  can  be  ginned,  the  lint  cotton  baled  and 
returned  to  the  farmer's  wagon,  and  the  seed  delivered  to 
him  from  the  elevator.  During  this  process,  practically  no 
hand  work  is  necessary.  Cotton  may  be  seriously  damaged 
if  the  gin  is  run  at  too  high  a  rate  of  speed  or  if  the  cotton  i« 


452  FIELD  CROPS 

damp  when  ginned.  Sea  Island  cotton  is  ginned  in  what  is 
known  as  the  roller  gin,  as  the  fiber  is  seriously  damaged  by 
the  ordinary  type  of  saw  gin. 

615.  The  Cotton  Bale.  The  standard  square  bale  of 
cotton  weighs  about  500  pounds  gross,  with  a  net  weight  of 
478  pounds  of  lint.  The  difference  of  22  pounds  consists  of 
"bagging  and  ties,"  that  is,  the  bagging  with  which  the  bale 
is  wrapped  and  the  iron  bands  by  which  it  is  held  in  shape. 
The  general  run  of  cotton  bales  averages  a  httle  more  than 
500  pounds  in  weight.  A  bale  of  cotton  is  a  compact  mass 
of  lint  cotton  about  54  inches  long,  44  inches  wide,  and  24 
inches  thick.  Round  bales  averaging  250  pounds  in  weight 
are  sometimes  made.  These  are  more  compact  than  the 
square  bale  and  are  made  with  less  injury  to  the  fiber,  as  the 
sheet  of  lint  is  wound  directly  upon  a  cyhnder  as  it  comes  from 
the  gin.  Before  cotton  is  shipped  any  considerable  distance, 
the  square  bale  is  compressed  to  reduce  the  bulk,  the  42  to  46 
inches  of  width  being  reduced  to  20  inches.  The  other 
dimensions  are  not  changed.  In  this  form,  the  cotton  of  the 
South  is  shipped  to  the  markets  of  the  world. 

MARKETING  AND  RETURNS 

616.  Marketing.  Cotton  is  usually  sold  to  local  buyers 
or  to  representatives  of  large  consumers  of  the  lint.  The 
sales  are  usually  for  cash,  and  a  large  part  of  the  crop  is  sold 
as  soon  as  it  is  ginned.  It  is  then  stored  in  warehouses 
awaiting  shipment,  is  shipped  at  once  to  the  mills,  or,  if  pur- 
chased for  export,  is  forwarded  to  one  of  the  coast  cities. 
Galveston,  New  Orleans,  and  Savannah  are  among  the  prin- 
cipal export  cities.  The  grower  may,  however,  store  his 
cotton  in  a  warehouse  to  be  sold  at  some  future  time  or  may 
return  it  to  his  farm,  if  he  has  the  proper  conveniences  for 
storage.  The  seed  is  either  returned  to  him  from  the  gin- 
nery or  purchased  by  the  ginner,  who  in  turn  sells  it  to  an 
agent  of  the  oil  mill. 


MARKET  GRADES  OF  COTTON  453 

617.  Market  Grades.  The  price  of  cotton  is  governed 
largely  by  its  commercial  grade,  determined  by  a  sample 
from  the  surface  of  the  bale.  The  grades  depend  on  the 
length  and  strength  of  the  staple  and  upon  its  uniformity. 
The  highest  grade  is  known  as  ''fair/'  while  the  lowest  is 
''ordinary."  Between  these  two  there  are  five  other  grades, 
known  as  middling  fair,  good  middling,  middling,  low  mid- 
dling, and  good  ordinary.  Between  each  two  of  these  grades 
are  still  others,  half  and  quarter  grades,  distinguished  by 
the  terms  ''strict,"  ''fully,"  and  "barely."  Cleanliness  and 
weather  injury  often  have  as  much  influence  on  cotton  prices 
as  the  actual  grade  of  the  cotton.  "Fair"  cotton  is  usually 
about  one  fourth  higher  in  price  than  "ordinary." 

618.  Prices.  The  relative  prices  of  different  lots  of  cot- 
ton are  based  on  the  market  grades,  but  the  price  itself  is 
fixed  by  the  supply  and  demand,  and  also  to  some  extent  by 
market  manipulations.  The  price  usually  ranges  between 
8  and  15  cents  a  pound,  though  cotton  has  sold  below  5 
cents.  The  lowest  price  of  middling  upland  at  Galveston 
for  the  five  years  from  1913  to  1917  was  6.625  cents,  and  the 
highest  price,  30.35  cents.  The  average  of  the  highest  yearly 
prices  for  the  ten  years  was  18.43  cents,  while  the  average  of 
the  lowest  prices  was  10.41  cents.  Prices  at  the  other  large 
markets  usually  rule  about  the  same  as  those  at  Galveston. 
The  average  price  of  cottonseed  in  the  United  States  for 
1917  was  $66.08  per  ton. 

619.  Exports  and  Imports.  The  average  annual  expor- 
tation of  cotton  for  the  five  years  from  1909  to  1913  was 
9,008,000  bales.  Since  1914,  cotton  exports  have  been  some- 
what restricted  by  war  conditions.  Of  our  exports,  about 
30,000  bales  were  Sea  Island  cotton,  the  remainder  being 
upland.  During  this  period,  the  annual  imports  of  cotton 
averaged  only  215,000  bales.  In  the  same  years,  an  average 
of  38,968,000  gallons  of  cottonseed  oil  were  exported  from 
the  United  States. 


454  FIELD  CROPS 

USES  OF  COTTON 

620.  The  Uses  of  the  Lint.  The  lint  of  cotton  is  the 
most  important  of  the  world's  fibers,  furnishing  clothing  for 
a  very  large  part  of  all  the  people.  It  is  the  largest  item  in 
our  world  trade,  and  the  production  of  cotton  goods  is  the 
largest  of  manufacturing  enterprises.  The  lint  is  first  spun 
into  thread  or  yarn  and  is  then  woven  into  all  manner  of 
fabrics.  Upland  cotton  is  used  in  the  manufacture  of  a 
large  variety  of  cloths,  either  alone  or  in  mixtures  with  wool, 
flax,  or  silk.  Thread  is  largely  made  from  long  staple  up- 
land, while  Sea  Island  cotton  is  used  for  the  finer  threads 
and  fabrics.     Cotton  is-  used  extensively  in  explosives. 

621.  Uses  of  the  Seed.  C'ottonseed  was  for  many  years 
thrown  away  as  worthless  or  was  used  only  as  a  fertilizer. 
During  the  last  forty  or  fifty  years  the  development  of  the 
cottonseed  oil  industry  has  furnished  a  ready  market  for  the 
seed,  and  it  is  now  a  valuable  part  of  the  crop.  The  whole 
seed  is  still  used  to  some  extent  as  a  feed  or  fertilizer,  but 
most  of  it  goes  to  the  oil  mills.  The  products  from  the  seed 
are  numerous,  the  primary  ones  being  the  linters,  hulls,  and 
meats.  ''Linters"  is  the  short  lint,  or  fuzz,  which  covers  the 
seed  and  which  is  not  removed  in  ginning.  This  fuzz  is 
removed  by  a  special  ginning  process  and  used  for  cotton 
batting,  carpets,  and  coarse  twine.  The  next  process  is  to 
remove  the  hulls,  as  these  would  absorb  the  oil.  These  hulls 
have  some  value  as  fuel  and  fertilizer,  and  are  also  used  for 
feeding  to  cattle.  About  850  pounds  of  hulls  is  obtained 
from  a  ton  of  whole  seed.  The  meats  comprise  about  1,100 
pounds  of  each  ton  of  seed. 

After  the  hulls  are  removed,  the  meats  are  cooked  for 
about  twenty  minutes  to  melt  the  oil  and  to  drive  off  a  part 
of  the  water.  The  oil  is  then  extracted  under  pressure,  a  ton 
of  seed  yielding  about  300  pounds,  or  40  gallons,  of  crude  oil. 
A  large  number  of  different  grades  of  oil  are  obtained  by 
various  processes  of  refining  and  filtering,  and  from  these 


USES  OF  COTTON  STALKS  455 

many  products  and  compounds  are  made.  Cottonseed  oil 
is  used  for  cooking,  either  alone  or  in  combination  with 
animal  fats,  as  lard  and  butter  substitutes  such  as  cottolene 
and  oleomargarine.  Some  of  the  grades  of  oil  are  used  as 
substitutes  for  olive  and  peanut  oils  and  for  medicinal  pur- 
poses, while  others  are  largely  used  in  the  manufacture  of 
soaps.  The  meats  from  which  the  oil  has  been  pressed  are 
ground  into  meal,  known  as  cottonseed  meal. 

Cottonseed  meal  is  utilized  as  a  fertilizer  and  as  a  feed 
for  live  stock.  As  a  fertiUzer,  it  is  rich  in  nitrogen  and  also 
contains  some  potash  and  phosphoric  acid.  It  is  com- 
monly used  in  the  fertilization  of  all  crops  throughout  the 
South.  As  a  stock  feed,  it  is  most  largely  fed  to  cattle  and 
sheep.  It  contains  37.6  per  cent  of  digestible  protein  and 
9.6  per  cent  of  fat,  so  that  it  is  one  of  the  most  concentrated 
feeds.  Cottonseed  meal  is  largely  exported,  it  being  in  much 
favor  among  dairymen  and  other  feeders  of  Uve  stock  in 
England  and  elsewhere. 

622.  Uses  of  the  Stalks.  Little  use  has  yet  been  made 
of  the  stalks  of  cotton,  though  cattle  will  eat  the  young  bolls, 
leaves,  and  smaller  stems  if  turned  into  the  field  after  the 
crop  is  picked.  The  stalks  may  be  cut  with  a  stalk  cutter 
and  plowed  under  or  they  may  be  burned.  Plowing  them 
under  is  the  better  practice,  since  they  are  of  some  value  for 
both  vegetable  matter  and  fertilizer.  Some  successful  at- 
tempts have  been  made  to  produce  paper  from  cotton  stalks 
and  from  cottonseed  hulls,  but  the  industry  has  not  yet 
been  developed  on  a  commercial  scale.  With  the  rapid 
depletion  of  our  supply  of  wood  pulp,  it  is  probable  that 
cotton  and  cornstalks  will  soon  be  put  to  this  use. 

DISEASES  AND  INSECTS 

623.  Diseases.  Of  the  numerous  diseases  of  cotton  which 
occur  in  various  sections  of  the  South  perhaps  the  most 
important  are  cotton  wilt  and  root  rot.     Cotton  wilt  is  some- 


456  FIELD  CROPS 

what  similar  to  flax  wilt.  The  fungus  enters  the  young 
plant  through  the  root  hairs,  and  its  mycelium  fills  the  cells 
of  the  plant,  preventing  it  from  obtaining  water.  The  plants 
become  dwarfed,  turn  yellow,  and  usually  die.  As  in  flax, 
certain  plants  seem  to  be  resistant  to  the  disease.  If  seed  is 
saved  from  these,  resistant  strains  may  be  produced.  This 
disease  is  confined  to  the  southeastern  part  of  the  cotton 
belt.  In  Texas,  particularly  on  the  heavier  lands,  root  rot 
is  common.  This  disease  attacks  the  roots  of  all  tap-rooted 
plants,  including  cotton,  the  legumes,  and  many  kinds  of 
fruit  trees.  The  most  effective  remedies  in  cotton  fields 
are  rotation  of  crops  and  deep  fall  plowing.  The  disease 
does  not  affect  corn,  the  small  grains,  or  grasses. 

624.  Insect  Pests.  The  most  important  insects  which 
attack  the  cotton  crop  are  the  boll  weevil  and  the  boll- 
worm,  though  a  host  of  others  do  more  or  less  damage.  The 
boll  weevil  was  first  reported  in  extreme  southern  Texas  in 
1892,  though  it  had  been  known  in  Mexico  for  many  years. 
Since  then  it  has  spread  through  the  cotton  belt  steadily, 
the  advance  northward  and  eastward  being  at  the  rate  of 
from  forty  to  fifty  miles  a  year.  It  is  now  spread  over  the 
greater  part  of  the  cotton-producing  area. 

The  boll  weevil  is  a  grayish  or  reddish-brown  insect  about 
one  fourth  of  an  inch  long  which  lays  its  eggs  in  the  squares 
soon  after  the  blossoms  fall.  The  egg  hatches  and  the 
rapidly  growing  larva  eats  the  contents  of  the  young  boll. 
In  about  ten  days,  it  turns  into  a  pupa  and  a  few  days  later 
emerges  as  a  weevil.  This  insect,  when  it  first  appears  in  a 
district,  is  very  destructive  to  the  cotton  crop,  but  its  ravages 
decrease  as  farmers  learn  better  how  to  control  it.  The  most 
effective  methods  are.  the  rotation  of  crops,  frequent  culti- 
vation to  knock  off  and  bury  the  infested  squares,  and  the 
early  planting  of  early  varieties,  as  the  insects  do  not  become 
numerous  till  late  in  the  season.  As  the  weevil  gets  its 
food  from  within,  it  is  not  easily  reached  by  poisons  applied 


GINNING  457 

to  the  surface.  It  has  been  shown,  however,  that  arsenical 
poison,  appHed  in  dust  form  when  the  dew  is  on  the  plant, 
is  very  efficacious.  The  weevil  takes  drink  from  the  mois- 
ture on  the  leaves.  From  250  to  1,000  pounds  more  seed 
cotton  per  acre,  it  is  claimed,  can  be  raised  on  sprayed  than 
on  unsprayed  plats. 

The  bollworm  is  the  larval  stage  of  a  moth  which  lays  its 
eggs  on  the  stems  and  leaves  of  cotton  and  other  plants. 
The  worm  eats  the  leaves  of  the  cotton  and  also  buries  itself 
in  the  half-grown  boll,  eating  the  young  seeds.  The  methods 
recommended  for  the  destruction  of  the  boll  weevil  are  also 
effective  with  the  bollworm.  In  addition,  poisoning  with 
Paris  green  and  the  use  of  trap  crops  are  recommended.  As 
the  moths  lay  their  eggs  on  the  most  readily  available  food 
plants,  many  of  the  worms  may  be  destroyed  early  in  the 
season  by  planting  occasional  rows  of  corn  through  the  cotton 
field  and  cutting  and  destroying  these  when  the-  worms 
become  numerous. 

FLAX 

625.  Fiber  Flax.  The  cultivation  of  this  crop  has  already 
been  discussed  (page  225).  In  the  United  States,  flax  is 
grown  almost  entirely  as  a  grain  crop,  and  the  use  of  the  straw 
for  fiber  is  incidental.  It  is  largely  grown  for  the  production 
of  fiber  in  some  portions  of  Europe,  particularly  in  Russia. 
It  ranks  next  to  cotton  in  importance  among  vegetable  fibers, 
the  annual  production  for  the  five  years  from  1907  to  1911 
averaging  1,572,000,000  pounds  as  compared  with  10,377,- 
000,000  pounds  of  hnt  cotton. 

HEMP 

626.  History.  Hemp  is  a  native  of  western  and  central 
Asia.  It  is  one  of  the  oldest  of  cultivated  plants,  dating  back 
at  least  3,500  years.  It  is  a  member  of  the  Moraceae,  or 
mulberry,  family,  to  which  the  mulberry,  the  osage  orange, 


458 


FIELD  CROPS 


and  the  hop  also  belong.  Hemp,  Cannabis  saliva,  is  a  rank, 
leafy  annual,  reaching  a  height  of  from  8  to  10  or  12  feet. 
The  staminate  and  pistillate  flowers  are  produced  on  separate 
plants;  the  pistillate  plants  are  more  branched  and  the  fiber 
from  them  is  of  less  value  than  that  from  the  staminate.     The 

production  of  hemp  in  the 
United  States  is  confined 
mostly  to  central  Kentucky, 
central  Tennessee,  New 
York,   and  Nebraska. 

627.  Culture.  Hemp  is 
ordinarily  sown  in  April  on 
land  that  is  suitable  for  the 
production  of  corn.  Rich 
land  and  the  use  of  nitro- 
genous fertilizers  result  in 
increased  yields.  The  seed 
is  sown  broadcast  or  with 
the  grain  drill  at  the  rate 
of  from  4  to  6  pecks  to  the 
acre.  The  growth  is  rapid 
and  there  is  little  trouble 
from  weeds.  Harvesting 
begins  as  soon  as  the  first 
seed  ripens,  which  is  usually 
in  about  three  and  one  half  months  from  planting.  The 
method  of  harvesting  depends  on  the  vigor  of  the  growth ; 
ordinarily  the  crop  is  cut  with  the  mower  or  binder,  but  if 
the  growth  is  unusually  rank  and  heavy,  the  corn  knife  is 
used.  The  plants  are  allowed  to  lie  on  the  ground  to  ret 
with  the  dews  and  rains  and  are  then  shocked  or  stacked. 
The  processes  of  separating  the  fiber  are  quite  similar  to 
those  described  for  the  production  of  flax  fiber  (Section  292). 
The  principal  enemy  of  hemp  is  broom  rape,  a  parasitic 
plant,  which  is  best  combated  by  rotation  of  crops. 


Figure    148. 


-  A   shock    of    seed    hemp. 
(U.  S.  D.  A.) 


MANILA,  SISAL,  JUTE  459 

The  best  quality  of  fiber  is  produced  when  hemp  is  retted 
under  water,  as  is  the  custom  in  some  of  the  European 
countries.  Dew-retted  hemp  is  dark  in  color  and  the  fiber 
produced  from  it  is  rather  coarse.  Most  of  the  hemp  grown 
in  the  United  States  is  used  for  the  manufacture  of  ropes  and 
of  warp  for  carpets. 

OTHER  FIBER  PLANTS 

Several  other  fibers  enter  into  the  world's  commercial 
use;  but,  as  they  are  not  raised  in  the  United  States,  mere 
mention  is  made  of  them. 

628.  Manila  fiber  is  derived  from  a  plant  that  grows 
luxuriantly  in  the  Philippine  Islands.  Its  length  of  fiber 
makes  it  especially  useful  for  rope,  for  which  purpose  it  is 
principally  used. 

629.  Sisal,  so-called  from  a  city  of  that  name  in  Yucatan, 
is  the  whitish  fiber  of  henequin,  a  plant  of  the  Agave  family, 
and  cultivated  in  Central  America  and  the  West  Indies.  It 
is  used  for  mats  and  twine,  and  is  sometimes  mixed  with 
manila  for  rope. 

630.  Jute  is  the  fiber  of  the  inner  bark  of  a  plant  grown 
in  India.  It  is  used  in  the  making  of  twine,  bags,  burlap, 
carpet,  and  even  wrapping  paper. 

LABORATORY  AND  FIELD  EXERCISES 

1.  Make  a  map  of  the  United  States  and  place  a  dot  in  each  state 
for  each  thousand  acres  of  cotton  produced. 

2.  Make  an  effort  to  secure  samples  of  cotton  plants  representing 
the  different  types  of  cotton.  Compare  the  fiber  as  to  length  and 
firmness. 

3.  Wherever  possible  visit  cotton  plantations  and  study  methods 
followed  as  to  cultivation,  fertilization  and  boll  weevil  control  and  com- 
pare results. 

'  4.  If  statistics  are  available,  make  a  careful  comparison  of  the 
relative  production  of  cotton  and  of  wool  in  the  United  States  both 
as  to  quantity  and  value. 


460  FIELD  CROPS 

REFERENCES 

Cyclopedia  of  American  Agriculture,  Vol.  II,  Bailey. 

Cotton,  Burkett  and  Foe. 

Farm  Crops,  Burkett. 

Southern  Field  Crops,  Duggar. 

Cotton  Seed  Products,  Lamborn. 

Field  Crop  Production,  Livingston. 

Productive  Farm  Crops,  Montgomery. 

From  the  Cotton  Field  to  the  Cotton  Mill,  Thompson. 

Farmers'  Cyclopedia  of  Agriculture,  Wilcox  and  Smith. 

Hemp,  Boyce. 

Farmers'    Bulletins: 

577.  Growing  Egyptian  Cotton  in  the  Salt  River  Valley  of  Arizona. 

625.  Cotton  Wilt  and  Root  Knot. 

764.  Ginning  Cotton. 

775.  Losses  from  Selling  Cotton  in  the  Seed. 

787.  Sea  Island  Cotton. 

802.  The  Classification  and  Grading  of  American  Upland  Cotton. 

848.  The  Boll  Weevil  Problem. 

890.  How  Insects  Affect  the  Cotton  Plant  and  Means  of  Com- 
bating Them. 


CHAPTER  XXV 
TOBACCO 

628.  Origin  and  History.  Tobacco  is  one  of  the  com- 
paratively few  important  cultivated  plants  which  are  natives 
of  the  New  World.  At  the  time  of  the  discovery  of  America 
it  was  grown  by  the  Indians  over  a  large  part  of  both  conti- 
nents. It  was  taken  to  the  Old  World  by  the  early  explorers, 
and  its  use  soon  spread  among  the  people  there.  For  many 
years  tobacco  was  a  common  medium  of  exchange  among  the 
settlers  in  Virginia  and  some  of  the  other  colonies.  It  was 
even  made  legal  tender  in  some  of  them,  and  values  were 
commonly  reckoned  in  pounds  of  tobacco  instead  of  in  dollars 
and  cents.  Much  of  the  early  development  of  Virginia  and 
Maryland  was  due  to  the  cultivation  of  this  crop,  which  was 
the  most  profitable  one  grov/n  by  the  colonists  and  the  only 
one  which  they  exported  in  any  quantity.  Later,  it  was 
carried  into  Kentucky,  Tennessee,  and  Ohio  by  the  early 
settlers,  and  these  states  have  always  remained  prominent 
in  its  cultivation. 

629.  Botanical  Characters.  The  tobacco  plant,  Nico- 
tiana  tahacum,  belongs  to  the  natural  order  Solanaceae,  in 
which  is  included  the  potato,  tomato,  and  eggplant,  and  such 
medicinal  and  poisonous  plants  as  henbane,  nightshade,  and 
Jimson  weed,  or  datura.  Tobacco  is  a  broad-leaved  annual, 
growing  to  a  height  of  from  3  or  4  to  8  feet.  The  leaves, 
which  are  the  portion  utilized,  vaiy  greatly  in  shape,  size, 
and  texture  in  different  varieties  and  under  different  soil  and 
climatic  conditions.  Climate  and  soil  have  more  influence 
than  variety,  as  widely  differing  varieties  soon  assume  much 
the  same  characteristics  when  grown  in  a  given  locality  for 
several  years.     The  long  white  or  pink  tubular  flowers  are 

461 


462  FIELD  CROPS 

borne  in  panicles  at  the  top  of  the  stem  and  on  the  ends  of 
the  side  branches.  The  numerous  and  very  small  seeds  ma- 
ture in  a  few  weeks  after  the  blossoms  appear. 

630.  Composition.  Tobacco  is  rich  in  plant  food  ele- 
ments, containing  about  6.7  per  cent  of  nitrogen,  8.5  per 
cent  of  potash,  and  9  per  cent  of  phosphoric  acid.  The  upper 
leaves  average  2.5  per  cent  of  nicotine,  a  poisonous  alkaloid 
which  characterizes  this  plant.  Tobacco  is,  therefore,  an 
exhausting  crop,  but,  in  turn,  is  itself  good  green  manure. 

631.  Types  of  Tobacco.  Several  distinct  types  of  tobacco 
are  grown  in  the  United  States.  The  most  important  are 
the  cigar-leaf,  white  Burley,  heavy,  or  export,  and  bright 
yellow.  The  types  are  distinguished  more  by  their  uses 
than  by  their  botanical  characteristics.  Filler  tobacco  is 
grown  principally  in  Pennsylvania,  Ohio,  and  the  South, 
and  wrapper  grades  in  the  Connecticut  Valley,  Pennsylvania, 
Wisconsin,  and  Florida.  AVhite  Burley  is  a  distinct  type 
with  light  green  leaves  and  cream-colored  stems  and  midribs, 
which  is  grown  most  largely  in  central  Kentucky.  Most  of 
this  type  is  used  in  the  manufacture  of  chewing  tobacco. 
In  western  Kentucky,  western  Tennessee,  and  the  adjoining 
sections  of  Illinois,  Indiana,  and  Missouri,  a  type  known  as 
heavy,  dark,  or  export,  tobacco  is  grown.  This  is  a  dark- 
colored,  thick-leaved  type  which  is  mostly  exported  to  Europe. 
In  Virginia  and  North  Carolina,  the  principal  type  is  the 
bright  yellow,  which  is  manufactured  into  smoking  and 
chewing  tobacco. 

632.  Importance  of  the  Crop.  The  tobacco  crop  of  the 
world  averaged  2,583,219,000  pounds  annually  for  the  five 
years  from  1907  to  1911.  Of  this  crop,  more  than  one  third, 
or  896,095,000  pounds,  was  grown  in  the  United  States. 
Complete  world  data  for  later  years  are  not  available.  Among 
the  other  countries  where  tobacco  is  largely  grown  are  British 
India,  with  an  annual  crop  of  450,000,000  pounds;  Aus- 
tria-Hungary,  with   180,475,000  pounds;  and  Russia,  with 


SOILS  AND  FERTILIZERS  463 

179,099,000  pounds.  Cuba's  crop  averaged  48,797,000 
pounds  for  this  period.  This  was  mostly  high-priced  cigar- 
leaf  tobacco.  Other  important  countries  in  the  production 
of  this  crop  are  Argentina,  Brazil,  Germany,  Turkey,  the 
Dutch  East  Indies,  and  Japan. 

The  average  area  devoted  to  this  crop  in  the  United 
States  for  the  period  from  1913  to  1917  was  1,334,000  acres, 
with  an  average  yield  of  809.7  pounds  to  the  acre.  The 
total  production  averaged  1,080,076,000  pounds,  valued  at 
$157,457,000. 

KT.  ^^^mmm^^^ammam^mmmi^mmmmamammm  34.51% 

N.  c.         w^^^mi^^^^ammmim  17.02% 

VIRGINIA  l^^^B^^HaBBH  12.42% 
OHIO  ^^^^Bi^  7.74% 

TENN.      ^mmmmm  6.69% 

WIS.  HBi^B  4.50% 

S.  C.  ■■■  3.31% 

All  Others  I^HBB^^^HHH^  13.81% 

Figure  149. — Percentage  of  the  tobacco  crop  of  the  United  States  produced  in 
each  of  the  leading  states,  1908-1917. 

Figure  149  shows  that  more  than  one  third  of  the  entire 
tobacco  crop  of  the  United  States  is  produced  in  the  state 
of  Kentucky.  This  state  produces  more  than  one  eighth  of 
the  tobacco  crop  of  the  world,  and  the  average  value  of  its 
annual  crop  is  nearly  $48,000,000.  In  1917  the  crop  of  this 
state  was  426,600,000  pounds  and  was  valued  at  close  to 
$97,000,000.  North  Carolina  and  Virginia  rank  next  in 
production,  though  their  combined  crop  is  less  than  that  of 
Kentucky.  These  three  states  produce  about  five  ninths  of 
the  tobacco  crop  of  the  entire  country.  The  usual  yield  to 
the  acre  in  these  states  is  from  650  to  900  pounds.  In  Wis- 
consin it  is  about  1,100  pounds,  and  in  Connecticut,  1,600. 

633.  Soils  and  Fertilizers.  None  of  our  other  field  crops 
is  so  affected  in  quality  and  value  by  soil  conditions  as  is 
tobacco.  The  soil  should  be  easily  tilled  and  fertile,  con- 
taining a  large  quantity  of  humus.  The  different  types  of 
tobacco  require  soils  of  widely  varying  character,  or  what  is 


464  FIELD  CROPS 

perhaps  nearer  the  truth,  the  different  types  of  soil  produce 
widely  different  types  of  tobacco.  Clay  soils  produce  heavy 
tobacco  of  the  shipping,  or  export,  type,  while  the  finest  leaf 
or  cigar  tobacco  is  grown  on  the  Ughter  sandy  soils. 

While  there  is  a  wide  variation  in  the  adaptability  of  soil 
types  to  tobacco  production,  the  crop  grows  better  on  all  soils 
that  are  fertile  and  moist.  The  growth  must  be  rapid  and 
without  check  from  drought  or  other  causes,  else  the  leaf  will 
be  small  and  of  poor  texture.  The  fertilizer  which  is  used 
depends  largely  on  the  soil  and  the  type  of  tobacco  which  is 
grown,  but  horse  manure  is  quite  commonly  used  when  it  is 
available,  and  commercial  fertilizers  are  also  frequently  ap- 
pHed.  The  fertilizer,  however,  should  be  well  balanced,  or 
the  quality  of  the  crop  will  be  injured.  An  excess  of  phos- 
phoric acid  affects  the  color  of  the  ash  in  cigar  tobacco,  while 
excessive  nitrogen  produces  a  thick,  heavy  leaf  not  suited  to 
cigar  use.  Some  of  the  cheaper  forms  of  potash,  as  those 
which  contain  chlorine,  are  injurious  to  the  burning  qual- 
ity of  cigars.  The  fertilizers  which  are  most  commonly  used 
with  good  results  are  cottonseed  meal,  high-grade  sulphate 
of  potash,  and  acid  phosphate.  The  fertilizer  is  usually 
broadcasted  or  drilled  in  before  the  plants  are  set,  the 
application  varying  from  200  pounds  to  a  ton  to  the  acre. 

634.  Preparing  the  Seed  Bed.  Unlike  most  of  our  other 
field  crops,  tobacco  is  sown  first  in  a  plant  bed  from  which 
the  plants  are  later  transplanted  to  the  field.  This  is  on  ac- 
count of  the  minute  nature  of  the  seeds  and  the  slow  growth 
of  the  young  plants,  and  also  because  these  beds  can  be  pro- 
tected from  late  frosts  and  the  seed,  therefore,  sown  much 
earlier  than  would  otherwise  be  possible.  It  is  always  de- 
sirable to  use  virgin  soil  for  the  plant  bed,  as  it  contains  a 
large  proportion  of  vegetable  matter  and  is  also  compara- 
tively free  from  weed  seeds  and  insects.  The  common 
practice  in  many  sections  where  such  land  is  available  is  to 
clear  off  a  small  patch  in  an  open  wood,  the  surrounding 


SOWING  TOBACCO  SEED  465 

timber  furnishing  protection  from  cold  and  winds.  If  new 
land  cannot  be  had,  then  newly  broken  sod  is  commonly  used. 
Cultivated  land  should  be  used  only  when  no  other  is  avail- 
able; but,  if  it  must  be  resorted  to,  it  should  be  well  fertilized 
the  previous  fall  with  barnyard  manure  or  tobacco  stems 
and  the  soluble  elements  allowed  to  leach  into  the  soil  during 
the  winter.  The  manure  or  stems  should  then  be  raked  off 
in  the  spring  and  the  bed  treated  as  a  new  one. 

During  the  winter,  the  bed  should  be  burned  over  to 
make  the  soil  friable  and  to  kill  all  weed  seeds  and  insects. 
These  purposes  are  usually  accomplished  by  piling  brush  and 
logs  over  the  bed  and  burning  them.  A  low,  steady  fire  is 
more  effective  than  a  high,  quick  one.  The  soil  should  be 
thoroughly  heated  to  a  depth  of  several  inches. 

The  size  of  the  bed  is  naturally  governed  by  the  acreage 
to  be  planted.  Enough  plants  can  be  produced  on  from  75 
to  100  square  feet  to  plant  an  acre,  but  it  is  safer  to  have 
from  150  to  200  square  feet  of  bed  for  each  acre  to  be  planted. 
This  space  gives  much  more  opportunity  for  the  selection  of 
the  best  plants.  The  most  convenient  shape  for  the  plant 
bed  is  one  about  3  feet  wide  and  as  long  as  may  be  necessary, 
for  this  width  makes  it  easy  to  reach  to  any  portion  of  it  from 
one  side  or  the  other. 

635.  Sowing  the  Seed.  As  the  seed  is  very  small,  it  is 
usually  mixed  with  dry  wood  ashes  or  some  other  fine  mate- 
rial to  give  bulk  and  insure  even  distribution.  A  teaspoon- 
ful  of  seed  will  sow  from  200  to  300  square  feet  of  bed.  Be- 
fore sowing,  the  light  and  immature  seeds  should  be  blown 
out  with  a  tobacco-seed  grader,  as  the  larger,  heavier  seeds 
give  much  better  plants.  The  date  of  seeding  depends 
largely  on  the  date  of  the  latest  spring  frost.  In  order  to 
have  the  plants  ready  for  setting  in  the  fields  as  soon  after 
this  date  as  possible,  the  seed  should  be  sown  about  two 
months  previous.  This  necessity  requires  March  seeding  m 
Kentucky,  Tennessee,  and  Virginia,  while  the  seed  is  sown  in 

30— 


466 


FIELD  CROPS 


April  in  the  states  farther  north.  The  seed  should  be  dis- 
tributed over  the  bed  as  evenly  as  possible  and  covered  very 
lightly.  The  usual  method  of  covering  is  to  sprinkle  the  bed 
thorough^  with  water,  though  a  board  is  sometimes  used  to 


,..M^K'-:- 

^^ ,  -.^^^^^'^^mr^ 

i.!^:^ 

,f    :    !rr  ,  ■  ip^  "^^.-^^ 

^    \^^^^~  jm-- 0 

~ 

Figure  150. — The  kind  of  tobacco  crop  that  is  produced  when  good  plants,  from 
selected  seed  are  planted  on  suitable  land  and  given  good  care. 


press  the  seed  into  the  soil  or  it  is  covered  by  brushing  the 
surface  of  the  bed  lightly  with  a  whisk  broom. 

On  account  of  this  early  seeding,  some  protection  from 
cold  is  necessary.  This  is  usually  provided  by  driving  stakes 
into  the  ground  along  the  edges  of  the  bed  and  building  a 
tight  enclosure  of  boards  about  1  foot  high.  This  is  then 
covered  with  glass  or  plant  muslin,  the  cloth  being  more  com- 


PREPARING  THE  TOBACCO  FIELD  467 

monly  used,  as  it  gives  better  ventilation,  is  cheaper,  and  the 
plants  under  it  are  less  subject  to  disease.  It  is  neces- 
sary to  water  frequently,  at  least  as  often  as  three  times 
a  week,  for  the  plants  should  never  be  allowed  to  become 
stunted  from  drought  or  any  other  cause. 

636.  Preparing  the  Field.  As  tobacco  is  a  crop  which 
gives  large  returns  when  properly  grown,  it  well  repays  much 
care  and  attention  in  fitting  the  field  and  in  cultivating  the 
crop.  Spring  plowing  is  most  commonly  practiced  on  new 
land  and  on  fields  where  there  is  a  l)lue  grass  or  clover  sod, 
or  where  cover  crops  are  grown.  It  is  preferable  to  have  a 
cover  crop  on  the  land  over  winter  to  prevent  washing  and 
leaching  of  the  soil.  It  is  then  disked  and  harrowed  at  in- 
tervals of  a  week  or  ten  days  till  the  plants  are  set  in  the  field. 
This  frequent  working  puts  the  surface  soil  in  fine  condition, 
helps  to  hold  the  moisture,  and  kills  the  weeds.  The  fertilizer 
is  distributed  just  before  the  rows  are  marked  for  planting. 

637.  Setting  the  Plants.  When  the  danger  of  frost  is 
past,  the  plants  are  removed  from  the  bed  and  set  in  the 
field.  Early  setting  is  advisable,  as  a  larger  percentage  of 
the  plants  will  survive  and  the  plants  will  mature  when  con- 
ditions for  curing  are  best.  In  order  to  retain  all  the  small, 
fibrous  roots  and  to  prevent  injury  as  much  as  possible  in 
removing  the  plants,  the  bed  is  thoroughly  sprinkled  before 
the  plants  are  pulled.  They  are  usually  taken  up  in  the 
morning  and  packed  tightly  in  baskets  or  boxes  for  carrying 
to  the  field.  If  thej^  are  not  set  at  once,  it  is  best  to  keep 
them  in  a  cool,  shady  place  till  wanted.  Small  or  diseased 
plants  should  be  discarded.  If  the  weather  is  cloudy,  the 
plants  may  be  set  at  any  time  during  the  day;  if  it  is  clear, 
setting  in  the  afternoon  and  evening  is  safest.  The  plants 
are  set  either  by  hand  or  with  the  transplanting  machine,  the 
machine  being  used  generally  where  large  acreages  are  grown. 
If  the  soil  is  dry,  water  is  applied  at  the  time  of  setting,  but 
it  is  not  necessaiy  to  do  so  when  there  is  plenty  of  moisture. 


468  FIELD  CROPS 

A  few  days  later,  all  dead  plants  should  be  replaced  with 
fresh  ones  from  the  plant  bed.  The  distance  between  the 
plants  differs  with  the  variety  and  the  soil,  though  the  usual 
distance  between  the  rows  is  from  3  to  4  feet,  with  the  plants 
from  18  to  24  inches  apart  in  the  row.  With  a  planter,  3 
acres  can  be  set  in  a  day,  three  men  and  a  team  being  required 
in  its  operation. 

638.  Cultivation.  As  soon  as  the  plants  start  into  growth 
after  transplanting,  the  ground  should  be  stirred.  The  earlier 
cultivations  are  usually  with  the  shovel  plow,  to  loosen 
the  soil  to  a  depth  of  several  inches  and  admit  air  and  heat. 
Later,  surface  cultivation  is  given,  to  keep  down  weeds 
and  maintain  a  dust  mulch.  The  soil  should  be  worked 
toward  the  plants  rather  than  away  from  them,  using  great 
care  not  to  injure  the  roots.  Every  effort  should  be  made  to 
induce  steady,  rapid  growth.  It  is  best  to  continue  the 
cultivation  at  intervals  of  a  few  days  until  the  plants  shade 
the  ground  quite  completely;  after  that  time,  the  leaves  are 
likely  to  be  broken  or  injured  by  it.  Later  workings  are 
usually  given  with  a  one-horse  spring-tooth  cultivator. 

Shade-grown  tobacco  generally  grows  taller  and  matures 
thinner  and  more  pliable  leaves  preferred  for  wrappers.  The 
shade  is  produced  by  nailing  lath  or  extending  cloth  over  a 
framework.     The  laths  are  arranged  to  give  half  shade. 

639.  Topping.  When  from  ten  to  eighteen  leaves  have 
been  produced,  the  top  of  the  plant  is  broken  out  to  prevent 
the  production  of  seed  and  to  increase  the  size  and  substance 
of  the  leaves.  Considerable  judgment  is  required  in  this 
work,  for  on  it  depends  in  large  measure  the  uniformity 
and  yield  of  the  crop.  Slow-growing  plants  or  those  on  poor 
soil  are  usually  allowed  to  develop  fewer  leaves  than  those  on 
rich  soil  or  which  are  making  rapid  growth.  Soon  after  the 
top  is  removed,  suckers  will  be  produced  from  the  axils  of 
the  leaves.  These  should  be  removed  when  they  reach  a 
length  of  about  3  inches.     It  is  necessary  to  go  over  the  field 


HARVESTING  TOBACCO 


469 


several  times  to  remove  these  suckers,  since  they  continue 
to  appear  as  long  as  the  plant  is  growing.     If  they  are 
allowed  to  develop,  they  reduce  the  value  of  the  leaves  on 
the  main  stalk  by  depriving  them  of  much  plant  food. 
640.  Harvesting  the  Crop.     Two  methods  of  harvesting 


Figure  151. — Harvesting  tobacco.      The  stalks  are  strung  on  laths  and  loaded  on 
the  frame  on  the  wagon,  to  be  hauled  to  the  barn  for  curing. 


tobacco  are  in  common  use.  Where  cigar-leaf  tobacco  is 
grown,  the  leaves  are  commonly  ''primed";  that  is,  the  lower 
leaves,  which  always  mature  first,  are  first  removed,  and  the 
others  taken  off  as  they  ripen.  Other  grades  of  tobacco  are 
commonly  harvested  by  cutting  the  entire  plant  with  a  corn 
knife  or  a  special  knife  devised  for  the  purpose.  The  proper 
stage  of  ripeness  is  indicated  by  a  slight  yellowing  of  the 
leaves  and  by  several  other  tests  known  to  the  grower, 
such  as  the  ''feel"  of  the  leaves  and  the  l^rittleness  of  the 
veins.  The  plants  are  usualty  ready  to  harvest  about  a 
month  after  topping. 

Where  the  leaves  are  cut  singly,  they  are  strung  on  laths, 
which  pierce  them  near  the  base,  thirty  to  forty  leaves  being 
put  on  a  lath.  If  the  entire  plant  is  cut,  from  four  to  six 
are  put  on  a  lath,  according  to  the  size  of  the  plant.     A 


470  FIELD  CROP^ 

removable  metal  spear  is  placed  on  the  end  of  the  lath  and 
run  through  the  base  of  the  stalk.  The  leaves  are  allowed 
to  wilt  for  a  few  hours,  and  are  then  hauled  to  the  barn  for 
curing.  In  hot,  sunshiny  weather  the  wilting  is  best  accom- 
pUshed  by  hanging  the  laths  close  together  on  a  temporary 
scaffolding  in  the  field,  as  the  leaves  are  likely  to  sunburn  if 


Figure  152. — A  tobacco  curing  barn  with  horizontal  ventilators.      The  method  of 
hanging  the  leaves  in  the  barn  is  shown. 

left  fully  exposed  to  the  sun's  raj^s.  Leaves  which  are  'S^el- 
lowed"  or  wilted  on  the  scaffold  are  less  likely  to  burn  in 
curing.  Care  should  be  taken  throughout  the  harvesting 
process  to  avoid  injury  by  l^ruising. 

641.  Curing.  The  curing  process  depends  largely  on  the 
use  which  is  to  be  made  of  the  crop.  The  object  is  to  remove 
the  moisture  in  the  leaves  and  stems  in  such  a  way  as  to 
produce  an  even  texture  and  coloring  in  the  leaves.  For 
this  purpose,  the  tobacco  is  hung  in  the  curing  barn  as  soon 
as  it  has  wilted.  Scaffolding  is  provided  so  that  the  laths 
may  be  hung  in  tiers,  giving  plenty  of  room  between  the 
plants  for  ventilation.     The  plants  should  be  shaken  v/hen 


STRIPPING  AND  GRADING  TOBACCO  471 

hung  in  the  barn,  to  prevent  the  leaves  from  sticking  together. 
Good  ventilation  at  the  sides  and  top  must  be  provided. 

Ordinarily,  the  tobacco  is  air-cured,  though  in  damp 
seasons  some  artificial  heat  may  be  necessary.  In  dry 
weather,  the  ventilators  are  left  open  day  and  night.  On 
damp  days,  they  should  ordinarily  be  open  during  the  day, 
though  they  may  be  closed  at  night.  If  the  air  is  very  damp, 
the  ventilators  may  be  kept  closed  for  as  long  as  forty-eight 
hours,  or  until  the  saturation  point  is  indicated  by  the  ''sweat- 
ing" of  the  tobacco.  They  must  then  be  opened  and  char- 
coal fires  built  to  create  a  circulation  of  air,  else  ''houseburn" 
and  discoloration  of  the  leaves  may  result.  It  is  then  said  to 
be  fire-cured.  When  cured  in  close  quarters  with  higher 
degrees  of  heat,  it  is  said  to  be  flue-cured.  Two  months  are 
ordinarily  required  for  curing,  though  the  process  may  be 
completed  in  less  time  if  artificial  heat  is  used.  Rapid  curing, 
however,  is  likely  to  produce  poor  color. 

642.  Stripping  and  Grading.  Moist  days  during  the 
winter  are  usually  selected  for  stripping,  or  removing  the 
leaves  from  the  stalks.  In  some  localities,  the  tobacco  is 
removed  to  a  damp  cellar  before  stripping.  When  the  leaves 
contain  sufficient  moisture,  they  may  be  handled  without 
cracking  or  breaking.  Much  depends  on  having  the  leaves 
in  proper  "case";  that  is,  in  having  them  contain  just  enough 
moisture  to  handle  readily.  If  too  dry  or  ''going  out  of 
case,"  they  will  continue  to  dry  out  when  bulked  and  will 
become  brittle;  while,  if  they  are  too  moist  or  in  "too  high 
case,"  they  will  become  very  dark  when  in  bulk. 

The  leaves  are  sorted  into  from  three  to  five  grades  as 
they  are  stripped,  the  number  of  grades  depending  on  the 
type  of  tobacco  and  the  use  which  is  to  be  made  of  it.  These 
grades  have  different  names  in  the  different  types,  and  vary 
materially  in  their  market  value.  The  central  leaves  on  the 
stalks  usually  go  in  the  best  grade.  After  the  leaves  are 
graded,  they  are  tied  in  small  bundles  and  these  into  larger 


472  FIELD  CROPS 

bundles,  the  form  and  size  of  the  package  depending  some- 
what on  the  kind  of  tobacco.  Tobacco  which  is  packed  in 
the  winter  will  sweat  in  May,  and  must  be  hung  out  to  dry 
or  it  will  rot.  It  may  then  be  bulked  and  will  keep  indefi- 
nitely, as  will  that  which  is  put  down  in  "summer  order"; 
that  is,  allowed  to  hang  in  the  curing  shed  over  winter  and 
then  stripped  and  packed  the  following  summer. 

643.  Marketing.  The  method  of  marketing  depends  on 
the  distance  which  the  tobacco  must  be  shipped.  If  factories 
or  warehouses  are  close  by,  it  is  marketed  loose.  If  it  must 
be  shipped  a  considerable  distance,  it  is  packed  tightly  into 
hogsheads  or  large  casks.  The  manner  of  packing  depends 
largely  on  the  market.  Only  one  grade  should  be  put  in  a 
package,  and  care  should  be  exercised  in  packing  in  order  to 
obtain  the  best  price.  There  are  usually  warehouses  or 
factories  close  to  the  tobacco  fields,  so  that  the  farmer  need 
not  pack  his  crop. 

644.  Returns.  The  price  of  tobacco  varies  widely  from 
year  to  year,  according  to  the  supply  and  other  causes.  There 
are  also  wide  differences  in  price  among  the  different  grades. 
The  average  price  per  pound  for  the  ten  years  from  1908  to 
1917  was  10.6  cents  in  Kentucky,  where  smoking  and  heavy 
export  tobaccos  are  largely  grown;  in  North  Carolina,  where 
chewing  and  the  better  grades  of  smoking  tobacco  are  grown, 
it  was  15.1  cents;  in  Connecticut,  where  the  crop  is  entirely 
used  for  the  manufacture  of  cigars,  the  average  price  per 
pound  was  21.6  cents;  and  in  Florida,  where  the  best  grade 
of  cigar  wrappers  is  produced,  the  average  return  to  the 
grower  was  32. 1  cents. 

As  the  acre  yield  varies  from  600  to  1,500  pounds  or  even 
more,  it  can  readily  be  seen  that  the  value  of  an  acre  of  tobac- 
co is  high,  and  justly  so,  as  the  expense  of  growing  the  crop 
is  heavy.  The  average  value  per  acre  in  Kentucky  for  the 
five  years  from  1912  to  1916  was  $79.56;  Virginia,  $81.46; 
North  CaroHna,  $95.47;  Connecticut,  $346.45;  and  Florida, 


TOBACCO  IN  ROTATION  473 

$286.86.  The  Connecticut  and  Florida  tobacco  is  largely 
grown  under  the  shade  of  muslin  screens  and  the  cost  of  pro- 
duction is  high,  so  that  the  net  returns,  while  greater  than 
in  the  other  states,  are  not  so  large  as  might  at  first  appear. 

645.  Rotation.  A  Virginia  rotation  for  dark  tobacco  is: 
First  year,  tobacco;  second  year,  wheat;  third  and  fourth 
years,  mixed  grasses  and  clover;  fifth  year,  corn;  sixth  year, 
cowpeas.  A  Pennsylvania  rotation  is:  First  year,  wheat; 
second  year,  grass;  third  year,  tobacco.  The  rotation  may 
be  extended  a  year  by  growing  corn  after  wheat.  In  Ken- 
tucky tobacco  is  sometimes  grown  for  two  years  in  succes- 
sion after  a  crop  of  blue  grass.  In  Wisconsin  it  is  advo- 
cated that  on  low  and  prairie  soils,  well-supplied  with  humus 
and  nitrogen,  and  even  on  sandy  and  clay  loams  a  rotation 
need  not  be  employed  till  depreciation  occurs. 

646.  Insects  and  Diseases.  Tobacco  is  not  subject  to 
injury  from  many  insect  pests  or  diseases.  The  most  fre- 
quent pest  is  the  horn  worm,  or  tobacco  worm,  which  feeds 
on  the  leaves.  This  may  be  killed  by  applying  from  J^  to 
1  pound  of  dry  Paris  green  to  the  acre,  mixing  the  poison 
with  about  twenty  times  its  bulk  of  flour  and  applying  it 
to  the  plants  with  a  bellows.  If  too  much  poison  is  used, 
it  will  burn  the  leaves.  The  smaller  worms  are  killed  by  the 
Paris  green,  but  it  does  not  affect  the  larger  ones.  These 
must  be  removed  by  hand  picking.  Few  diseases  attack 
the  plant  in  the  field.  Damping-off,  or  bed  rot,  and  other 
fungous  diseases  sometimes  occur  in  the  plant  bed,  but  these 
are  ordinarily  controlled  by  burning  the  bed  before  seeding, 
sowing  only  the  best  seed,  and  giving  proper  attention  to 
ventilation  and  watering. 

647.  Selection  of  Seed.  A  few  of  the  choicest  plants  may 
be  allowed  to  produce  seed.  As  half  a  dozen  will  produce 
enough  seed  for  several  acres,  there  is  plenty  of  opportunity 
for  the  selection  of  only  the  very  best  plants.  These  ought 
to  be  uniform  and  typical  of  the  variety  or  type  which  is 


474  FIELD  CROPS 

being  grown.  The  market  value  of  the  crop  can  be  niat(n-ially 
increased  by  care  in  the  selection  of  the  seed  plants.  As 
soon  as  the  flower  stalks  appear,  but  before  any  flowers  open, 
the  head  should  be  covered  with  a  12-pound  manila  paper 
bag,  for  experiments  have  shown  that  self-fertilized  seed 
produces  much  more  uniform  plants  than  that  which  is  open- 
fertilized.  After  a  few  days,  the  bag  is  taken  off  temporarilj^ 
and  all  superfluous  leaves  and  blossoms  removed,  leaving 
from  forty  to  eighty  seed  pods.  It  is  then  put  back, 
and  taken  off  at  intervals  of  a  few  days  to  remove  new  flower 
buds  which  may  have  formed.  After  three  or  four  weeks, 
the  bag  is  taken  off  permanently,  care  still  being  given  to 
remove  all  flower  buds  which  develop  afterwards.  When 
the  pods  turn  brown,  the  stem  is  cut  off  and  hung  in  a  dry, 
airy  place  for  curing.  The  seed  should  be  stored  in  a  dry 
place  and  safe  from  the  attacks  of  mice  and  insects,  for  on 
it  depends  largely  the  value  of  the  succeeding  crop. 

LABORATORY  AND  FIELD  EXERCISES 

1.  Examine  the  different  kinds  of  leaves  used  for  different  pur- 
poses.    What  are  the  characteristics  of  each? 

2.  Grow  a  few  tobacco  plants  with  different  fertihzers  and  with- 
out fertilizer,  and  note  results.  Also  grow  some  plants  under  shade, 
and  note  what  differences  may  appear. 

3.  Visit  fields  and  barns,  if  possible,  and  observe  methods  of  plant- 
ing, growing,  and  curing.  , 

REFERENCES 

Cyclopedia  of  American  Agriculture,  Vol.  II,  Bailey. 

Tobacco,  Its  History,  Culture,  and  Varieties,  Billings. 

Farm  Crops,  Burkett. 

Southern  Field  Crops,  Duggar. 

Tobacco  Leaf,  Killebrew  and  Myrick. 

Productive  Farm  Crops,  Montgomery. 

Farmers'  Bulletins: 

416.  Production  of  Cigar  Leaf  Tobacco. 

523.  Tobacco  Curing. 

57 L  Tobacco  Culture. 


PART  V— CONCLUDING  CHAPTERS 

CHAPTER  XXVI 

ROTATION  OF  CROPS 

648.  Definition.     A  rotation  of  crops,  according  to  the 
Cyclopedia  of  American  Agriculture,  is  ''a  recurring  succes- 
sion of  plants  covering  a  regular  period  of  years  and  main- 
tained on  alternating  fields  on  the  farm."     Crop  rotation 
can  best  be  explained,  perhaps,  by  giving  an  example  of  it 
which  is  common  in  many  sections.     A  cultivated  crop,  as 
corn  or  potatoes,  is  grown  on  one  part  of  the  farm  the  first 
year;  a  grain  crop,  as  wheat,  oats,  or  barley,  on  another; 
and  a  grass  crop,  as  timothy,  clover,  or  brome  grass,  on  a 
third  part.     The  following  year  the  grain  will  occupy  the 
land  where  the  cultivated  crop  was  grown;  the  grass  crop, 
which  was  sown  with  the  grain  the  first  year,  will  occupy  that 
land;  while  the  land  in  grass  the  first  year  will  be  broken  and 
planted   to   a   cultivated   crop.     This   regular   sequence   of 
cultivated  crops,  grain  crops,  and  grass  crops,  is  called  a 
rotation  of  crops.     Unless  there  is  some  definite  plan  and 
reason  for  such  a  sequence,  it  cannot  properly  be  called  a 
rotation.     For  instance,  the  alternating  of  oats  or  barley  or 
flax  with  wheat  in  a  spring-wheat  region  can  hardly  be  called 
a  rotation,  for  it  does  not  conform  to  the  principles  on  which 
crop  rotation  is  ])ased. 

649.  Origm  of  Crop  Rotation.  The  system  of  farming 
which  was  originally  followed  was  to  grow  a  crop  on  a  piece 
of  land  continuously  until  the  yields  decreased  below  the 
point  where  production  was  profitable.  Then  the  land  was 
allowed  to  ''rest";  that  is,  it  reverted  to  a  state  of  nature, 
growing  up  to  weeds,  brush,  or  trees,  while  a  new  field  was 


476  FIELD  CROPS 

cleared  for  the  farm  operations.  If  the  old  piece  was  again 
cleared  after  a  few  years,  its  original  fertility  would  be  found 
to  be  largely  restored,  for  the  plants  which  grew  on  it  during 
the  interval  drew  the  plant  food  from  the  soil  as  it  became 
available  and  returned  it  with  each  recurring  season. 

After  a  time,  the  practice  became  common  of  resting  the 
land  for  but  a  single  season,  allowing  it  to  grow  up  to  weeds 
and  then  plowing  them  under.  This  was  less  expensive  and 
laborious  than  clearing  new  land,  while  its  effect  on  crop 
yields  was  nearly  as  good.  As  agriculture  advanced,  the 
land  was  cultivated  during  this  resting  period  to  prevent  the 
growth  of  weeds  and  what  was  known  as  the  ''summer  fallow" 
was  developed.  Still  later,  a  cultivated  crop  was  substituted 
for  the  summer  fallow,  for  land  was  constantly  becoming 
more  valuable  and  it  was  not  profitable  to  allow  it  to  he 
idle  every  alternate  year.  Crop  rotation  was  thus  eventually 
developed.  This  same  process  of  evolution  from  continuous 
cropping  to  a  systematic  rotation  of  crops  is  repeated  in 
more  or  less  detail  in  practically  every  newly  settled  countiy. 
It  is  now  taking  place  in  a  large  part  of  our  western  territoiy, 
though  here  the  lack  of  rainfall  may  interfere  in  some  degree 
with  the  adoption  of  logical  rotation  systems. 

HOW  ROTATIONS  HELP 

650.  Advantages  of  a  Rotation.  A  rotation  of  crops 
improves  the  physical  condition  of  the  soil,  helps  to  con- 
serve moisture  and  vegetable  matter  in  the  soil,  lessens  the 
damage  from  insects  and  plant  diseases,  aids  in  the  control 
of  weeds,  increases  crop  yields,  distributes  the  labor  of  crop 
pro<iuction,  and  helps  to  systematize  farm  operations. 

651.  Rotation  Improves  the  Physical  Condition  of  the 
Soil.  The  roots  of  all  plants  do  not  penetrate  the  soil  to  the 
same  depth.  Deep-rooting  plants  like  clover  and  alfalfa 
enter  the  lower  layers  of  the  soil.  When  their  roots  decay 
they  open  channels  for  the  passage  of  air  and  moisture  and 


ROTATION  OF  CROPS  477 

make  it  easier  for  the  crops  which  follow  to  draw  on  the 
stores  of  plant  food  in  the  subsoil.  Constant  cultivation  and 
the  growing  of  cultivated  crops  tend  to  decrease  the  supply 
of  vegetable  matter  in  the  soil,  because  favorable  conditions 
for  its  decomposition  are  provided.  Grain  crops  add  Uttle 
in  the  way  of  vegetable  matter  unless  the  straw  is  returned 
in  manure,  as  the  roots  and  stubble  are  not  bulky.  The 
grasses,  however,  grow  for  two  or  more  years  and  accumulate 
a  large  quantity  of  fibrous  material,  which  tends  to  restore 
the  supply  of  vegetable  matter.  If  a  portion  of  this  matter 
is  in  the  lower  soil  layers,  as  in  the  case  of  deep-rooting  plants, 
it  further  improves  the  physical  condition.  The  varying 
cultivation  which  is  given  to  different  crops  is  also  of  benefit, 
for  the  soil  is  stirred  to  different  depths  and  aerated. 

652.  Rotations  Conserve  Moisture.  Practically  all  sys- 
tems of  rotation  include,  at  some  time  during  their  course, 
one  or  more  cultivated  crops.  Cultivation,  by  maintaining 
a  surface  mulch  and  lessening  evaporation,  helps  to  hold  the 
moisture  in  the  soil.  Moisture  passes  very  readily  from 
stubble  land,  or  from  any  bare,  untilled  field,  but  the  tillage 
given  a  cultivated  crop  conserves  moisture  for  the  next  crop. 

653.  Rotations  Conserve  Vegetable  Matter.  Constant 
cultivation  and  the  removal  of  crops  rapidly  reduce  the 
vegetable  matter  in  the  soil.  A  rational  system  of  rotation 
includes  the  keeping  of  more  or  less  live  stock  to  turn  the 
bulkier  and  less  valuable  products  of  the  farm  into  more  con- 
centrated and  more  readily  salable  products.  With  proper 
care  given  to  the  manure,  a  large  part  of  this  vegetable  matter 
may  be  returned  to  the  soil.  While  grain  crops  and  cultivated 
crops  are  exhaustive  of  vegetable  matter,  grass  crops,  because 
they  have  extensive  root  systems,  materially  increase  the 
vegetable  matter  in  the  soil. 

654.  Rotations  Lessen  Damage  from  Insects  and  Dis- 
eases. Most  of  the  plant  diseases  and  injurious  insects  are 
decidedly  limited  in  the  number  of  plants  on  which  they  can 


478 


FIELD  CROPS 


live.  Many  of  them  are  destructive  to  only  one  of  the  crops 
commonly  grown.  They  are  not  generally  capable  of  move- 
ment for  any  considerable  distance  during  a  season,  but 
increase  very  rapidly  from  year  to  year  if  a  single  crop  is 
grown  repeatedly  on  the  same  land.  The  change  of  crops 
from  one  field  to  another  helps  to  keep  these  pests  under 


Figure  153. — Samples  of  soil  from  (1)  a  grass  plot,  and  (2)  from  one  which  has 
been  in  corn  continuously  for  a  number  of  years.  Note  the  absence  of  vege- 
table matter  in  the  sample  from  the  corn  field. 


control.  As  most  plant  diseases  are  unable  to  maintain 
themselves  for  more  than  three  or  four  years  in  the  soil 
without  their  particular  host  crop  on  which  to  grow,  the  crop 
may  be  returned  to  the  land  at  the  end  of  such  a  period  with 
little  fear  of  injury.  The  same  statement  is  true  to  a  lesser 
extent  of  insects.  Some  of  them  will  go  from  field  to  field, 
but  the  greater  part  of  them  will  die  for  lack  of  suitable  food 
if  crops  on  which  they  do  not  feed  are  introduced. 

655.  Rotations   Aid   in  Keeping  Down   Weeds.     Some 
weeds  grow  best  in  certain  crops  or  under  certain  conditions; 


ROTATION  OF  CROPS  479 

others  thrive  under  totally  different  conditions.  The  smah 
grains  offer  particularly  favorable  conditions  for  the  growth 
of  many  weeds.  The  spring  grains  are  sown  before  many  of 
the  weed  seeds  germinate,  and  ordinarily  no  effort  is  made  to 
control  weeds  which  come  up  in  them,  so  that  they  are  allowed 
to  grow  unmolested  till  harvest.  Even  less  opportunity  is 
afforded  to  combat  weeds  in  fall  grain,  except  that  the  grain 
begins  growth  earlier  in  the  spring  than  many  of  the  weeds 
and  is  harvested  earlier  than  some  of  them  mature  their 
seed.  By  harvest,  most  of  the  annual  weeds  have  ripened 
their  seeds  and  have  thus  had  every  chance  to  increase. 
Meadows  and  pastures  offer  less  favorable  conditions  for 
annual  weeds,  as  the  crops  and  weeds  are  cut  or  eaten  off  by 
stock,  and  when  a  good  sod  is  established  it  affords  little 
opportunity  for  weeds  to  get  a  start.  Biennial  and  peren- 
nial weeds,  however,  often  thrive  in  meadows  and  pastures, 
if  the  field  is  left  undisturbed  for  several  years  and  there  is 
no  chance  to  destroy  them  by  stirring  the  soil.  Cultivated 
crops  offer  opportunities  for  the  destruction  of  weeds  of  all 
classes.  In  other  words,  weeds  increase  rapidly  in  grain 
crops,  some  classes  decrease  while  others  may  increase  in 
meadows  and  pastures,  and  all  classes  decrease  in  fields  on 
which  cultivated  crops  are  grown  and  given  proper  attention. 
656.  Rotations  Insure  Returns.  A  rotation  of  crops, 
with  the  diversification  which  it  necessarily  implies,  insures 
some  return  for  the  season's  labor.  Seasonal  conditions  may 
be  such  as  to  cause  the  total  failure  of  one  crop,  but  it  is  very 
seldom,  at  least  east  of  the  100th  meridian,  that  all  the  crops 
on  the  farm  fail  to  yield  a  profitable  return.  Conditions 
that  are  unfavorable  to  oats  or  wheat  may  be  quite  suitable 
for  corn  or  hay,  so  that  if  one  has  several  crops  he  is  much 
surer  of  some  return  for  his  labor  than  if  he  depends  entirely 
on  one.  The  old  caution,  ^'Do  not  put  all  your  eggs  in  one 
basket,"  applies  as  well  to  crops  as  to  anything  else.  Plant 
diseases  or  insect  pests  may  destroy  one  crop,  but  they  are 


480  FIELD  CROPS 

seldom  destructive  to  all  crops  in  any  one  year.  The  diversi- 
fication of  crops  has  been  the  best  means  of  preventing  finan- 
cial disaster  in  the  sections  of  the  South  which  have  been 
invaded  by  the  cotton  boll  weevil,  just  as  it  has  been  under 
similar  circumstances  in  other  sections. 

657.  Rotations  Increase  Crop  Yields.  One  crop  helps 
to  prepare  the  soil  for  the  one  which  follows.  Clover  opens 
the  subsoil  and  adds  nitrogen  and  vegetable  matter  for  the 
corn  or  potato  crop  which  comes  after  it.  A  cultivated  crop 
preceding  one  of  small  grain  puts  the  soil  in  the  best  physical 
condition,  conserves  moisture,  and  cleans  the  land  of  weeds. 
If  the  crops  which  are  produced  are  largely  fed  on  the  farm 
and  the  manure  returned  to  the  land,  crop  yields  will  be 
further  increased,  because  each  crop,  except  perhaps  the  small 
grains,  increases  the  available  supply  of  plant  food.  The 
grasses  and  clovers  add  vegetable  matter  to  the  soil,  while 
cultivation  unlocks  a  part  of  the  store  of  plant  food  and 
makes  it  available  for  the  use  of  plants. 

658.  Rotations  Distribute  Farm  Labor.  Growing  a 
single  crop  or  a  single  class  of  crops  limits  the  seasons  at 
which  farm  work  can  be  done.  The  growing  of  small  grains 
requires  a  rush  of  work  during  a  few  weeks  while  the  land  is 
being  prepared  and  the  crops  seeded,  and  again  during  har- 
vest, with  little  employment  during  the  remainder  of  the 
year.  Cultivated  crops  in  general  are  planted  later  than  the 
small  grains  and  most  of  the  work  of  cultivation  is  done 
before  grain  harvest,  while  they  are  not  ready  to  gather  until 
the  grain  crops  are  safely  housed.  Hay  crops  require  little 
labor  except  at  the  haying  season,  which  usually  comes  when 
other  crops  do  not  require  much  attention,  except  that  it  may 
sometimes  conflict  with  the  harvest  of  small  grains,  or  the 
cultivation  of  intertilled  crops.  The  harvest  of  such  crops 
as  alfalfa,  which  yield  several  cuttings  during  the  season, 
may  conflict  with  the  handling  of  other  crops,  but  such  con- 
flicts can  hardly  be  avoided.     A  diversity  of  crops  usually 


ROTATION  OF  'CROPS  481 

encourages  the  keeping  of  more  live  stock  than  single-crop 
farming,  and  live  stock  usually  requires  more  attention  dur- 
ing the  season  when  the  crops  require  least  care,  thus  dis- 
tributing labor  throughout  the  year.  The  system  of  farming 
which  provides  employment  for  the  farm  labor  throughout 
the  greater  part  of  the  year  is  the  one  which  is  most  likely 
to  prove  stable  and  profitable,  other  things  being  equal. 

659.  Rotations  Systematize  Farm  Operations.  A  rota- 
tion implies  a  definite  system  of  operations.  The  following 
of  a  rotation  allows  the  farmer  to  plan  his  work  more  defi- 
nitely during  the  season  and  to  figure  more  definitely  on 
crop  yields  and  income.  Rotations  tend  to  the  division  of 
the  farm  into  regular  units  of  uniform  size,  and  decrease 
rather  than  increase  the  number  of  fields  on  most  farms.  By 
effecting  a  more  uniform  distribution  of  farm  labor  through- 
out the  season,  a  smaller  and  much  more  permanent  force  is 
required,  which  in  itself  tends  to  place  the  work  of  the  farm 
on  a  stable  and  systematic  basis. 

660.  Rotations  Do  Not  Conserve  Fertility.  Many  persons 
hold  that  rotations  conserve  soil  fertility.  While  crop  yields 
will  decrease  much  more  slowly  where  several  crops  are 
grown  in  a  rotation  than  where  any  one  is  grown  continu- 
ously, crop  rotation  is  just  as  certain  to  exhaust  the  supply 
of  available  fertility  eventually,  if  no  fertilizers  are  used,  as 
is  a  single  cropping  system.  The  various  crop  plants  all  use 
the  same  elements  of  plant  food,  though  some  draw  more 
heavily  on  one  element  and  some  on  another.  The  three 
which  are  most  largely  used  and  most  likely  to  become 
depleted  are  nitrogen,  phosphorus,  and  potassium.  The 
legumes  take  the  nitrogen  from  the  air  and  store  it  in  the 
soil  in  a  form  available  for  other  plants,  so  that  if  a  legu- 
minous crop  is  grown  as  often  as  once  in  three  years  there  is 
little  danger  of  the  exhaustion  of  this  element,  but  nature's 
supply  of  potassium  and  phosphorus  must  eventually  be 
supplemented. 

31— 


482  FI£]Llj  Chul-b 

Live-stock  farming  aids  in  conserving  these  elements,  for 
live-stock  products  remove  much  less  of  them  than  grains, 
hay,  and  cotton.  If  the  manure  is  pfroperly  handled  and 
returned  to  the  land,  the  exhaustion  of  the  soil  will  be  very 
slow,  but  it  will  be  constantly  taking  place.  The  products 
which  are  sold  will  remove  some  of  the  potassium  and  phos- 


« 

^^■li^  J 

Wm^  '  ■'' 

0    ^ 

riH 

PpV' .""jjgll^^^^^^^H 

K 

H^I^^^S'm^h 

■ 

Figure  154. — Good  plowing  is  essential  to  the  production  of  good  crops. 

phorus,  while  there  will  also  be  a  considerable  loss  by  leach- 
ing from  the  soil  and  from  the  manure.  Some  phosphorus 
and  potassium  should  occasionally  be  added  from  outside 
sources  in  the  form  of  purchased  feeds  or  of  fertilizers  in 
order  to  maintain  or  to  increase  the  fertility  of  the  soil. 

WHAT  A  ROTATION  SHOULD  CONTAIN 

661.  Classes  of  Crops  in  a  Rotation.  So  far  as  their 
arrangement  in  a  rotation  is  concerned,  field  crops  may  be 
divided  into  grass,  grain,  and  intertilled,  or  "fallow,'*  crops. 
Grass  crops  include  all  the  plants  which  are  grown  in  meadows 
and  pastures,  such  as  the  perenaial  forags  gra«;;eftj  clovers, 


ROTATION  OF  CROPS  483 

and  alfalfa.  These  remain  on  the  land  for  two  or  more 
years  and  increase  the  supply  of  vegetable  matter  by  the 
mass  of  stubble  and  roots  which  they  produce.  All  annual 
crops  not  intertilled  will  be  designated  in  this  discussion  as 
grain  crops.  They  are  sown  too  thickly  to  allow  intertillage, 
and  occupy  the  land  but  a  few  months.  They  exhaust  the 
supply  of  humus  and  plant  food  elements,  and  are  also 
exhaustive  of  soil  moisture.  This  class  of  crops  includes 
wheat,  oats,  barley,  rye,  flax,  buckwheat,  millet,  and  all 
annual  forage  crops  similarly  produced.  Intertilled  crops 
are  planted  in  rows  wide  enough  apart  to  be  tilled  during  a 
large  part  of  the  growing  season.  They  are  also  exhaustive 
of  soil  fertility,  and  while  the  cultivation  tends  to  ''burn  out" 
or  hasten  the  decomposition  of  vegetable  matter,  it  aids  in 
the  changing  of  plant  food  from  insoluble  to  soluble  forms 
and  also  conserves  moisture.  Intertilled  crops  include  corn, 
cotton,  potatoes,  sugar  beets,  tobacco,  and  many  others  of 
less  importance.  The  annual  leguminous  forage  crops  may 
be  cultivated  like  corn  or  sown  broadcast.  Their  effect  on 
the  soil  is  very  similar  to  that  on  other  crops,  except  for 
their  ability  to  add  nitrogen. 

662.  The  Essentials  of  a  Good  Rotation.     The  essentials 
of  a  good  rotation  are : 

An  intertilled  crop. 

A  crop  for  cash  returns, 

A  crop  for  feeding  to  live  stock,  and 

A  crop  to  increase  the  supply  of  vegetable  matter  and 
nitrogen. 
Two  or  more  of  these  essentials  may  be  embraced  in  a  single 
crop.  Thus  clover  supplies  a  crop  for  live-stock  feeding, 
and  is  one  which  increases  the  supply  of  humus  and  nitro- 
gen. Corn  is  a  cultivated  crop,  and  may  be  either  a  cash 
crop  or  one  for  feeding  to  live  stock. 

663.  An    Intertilled    Crop.     As    already    stated,    weeds 
increase  when  grain  crops  are  grown,  and  the  methods  oi 


484 


'Iald  crops 


ROTATION  OF  CROPS  485 

destroying  them  are  limited.  Some  classes  of  weeds  increase 
in  meadows  and  pastures.  An  intertilled  crop  is  needed  at 
intervals  to  subdue  weeds  and  to  keep  them  from  over- 
running the  land.  Tillage  aids  in  retaining  the  soil  moisture 
and  in  liberating  supplies  of  plant  food.  Stirring  the  soil 
allows  the  air  to  penetrate  to  the  roots  of  the  plants  and 
enables  them  to  grow  better  than  in  hard,  cloddy  ground. 
The  aeration  of  the  soil  also  improves  its  texture  and  pro- 
vides more  favorable  conditions  for  the  growth  and  work  of 
some  of  the  beneficial  bacteria. 

664.  A  Crop  for  Cash  Returns.  It  is  essential,  if  the 
work  of  the  farm  is  to  be  made  profitable,  that  at  least  one 
crop  be  grown  for  cash  returns.  It  need  not  necessarily  be 
one  which  is  sold  in  its  natural  state,  for  it  may  be  converted 
on  the  farm  into  animal  products  and  then  marketed.  On 
many  farms,  however,  some  crop  is  grown  for  direct  sales 
for  cash  or  its  equivalent.  If  no  cash  crop  is  grown,  there 
is  no  opportunity  to  increase  the  available  funds  for  neces- 
sary improvements  or  for  the  purchase  of  food  and  clothing 
and  other  necessities  of  life  which  cannot  be  produced  on 
the  farm.  It  might  be  possible  to  follow  a  rotation  of  crops 
which  would  rapidly  increase  the  available  supply  of  plant 
food  by  growing  only  such  crops  as  clover,  rye,  and  cowpeas 
and  continually  plowing  them  under  as  green  manure  crops, 
but  this  practice  would  yield  no  cash  returns  and  could  be 
followed  only  where  there  was  some  source  of  income  from 
outside  the  farm.  In  general,  the  growing  of  a  cash  crop  is 
a  necessity.  Cotton,  wheat,  potatoes,  tobacco,  flax,  barley, 
and  sugar  beets  are  important  crops  which  are  grown  for 
direct  sales.  Hay  and  corn  frequently  become  cash  crops 
indirectly  by  marketing  them  through  live  stock. 

665.  A  Crop  for  Feeding  to  Live  Stock.  At  least  one 
crop  should  be  included  in  the  rotation  which  can  be  used 
for  feeding  to  live  stock.  The  necessary  work  stock  sliouid 
be  fed,  as  far  as  possible,  on  products  grown  on  the  farm, 


486  FIELD  CROPS 

ibr  it  is  usually  cheaper  to  grow  their  feed  than  to  purchase 
it.  It  is  generally  profitable  to  keep  some  cattle,  hogs,  and 
sheep,  or  at  least  one  of  these  classes  of  animals,  to  con- 
vert much  that  is  grown  on  the  farm  into  more  readily 
marketable  or  more  valuable  products,  and  at  the  same  time 
to  return  to  the  land  in  the  manure  a  large  part  of  the  fer- 
tility which  is  removed  by  the  crops.  Live-stock  farming 
will  postpone  soil  exhaustion  much  longer  than  grain  farm- 
ing if  no  fertility  is  brought  to  the  farm  from  outside  sources. 
Among  the  crops  which  may  be  grown  for  live-stock  feeding 
are  corn,  grass,  clover,  alfalfa,  oats,  and  barley. 

666.  A  Crop  to  Supply  Vegetable  Matter  and  Nitrogen. 
It  is  necessary  to  conserve  the  supply  of  vegetable  matter  in 
the  soil,  in  order  to  maintain  profitable  crop  yields.  The 
exhaustion  of  the  vegetable  matter  makes  the  soil  ''hard  to 
work";  it  becomes  stiff  and  lifeless,  bakes  and  clods  badly, 
and  dries  out  very  quickly.  Vegetable  matter  improves 
the  physical  condition  of  the  land  and  increases  its  moisture- 
holding  capacity.  The  acids  formed  through  the  deca>' 
of  this  organic  matter  also  help  to  unlock  the  unavailable 
supply  of  some  of  the  elements  of  plant  food  by  changing 
the  nature  of  the  compounds  and  by  acting  as  a  stronger 
solvent  than  water.  Nitrogen,  the  most  expensive  of  the 
three  elements  of  plant  food  usually  purchased  in  the  form  of 
commercial  fertilizers,  can  be  added  to  the  soil  very  cheaply 
through  the  medium  of  leguminous  crops.  The  grasses 
increase  the  supply  of  vegetable  matter;  the  legumes  increase 
the  supply  of  both  vegetable  matter  and  nitrogen.  Vege- 
table matter  is  also  added  to  the  soil  in  corn  and  cotton 
stalks,  straw,  stubble,  and  manure.  The  more  important 
crops  to  supply  vegetable  matter  are  clover,  alfalfa,  the 
perennial  grasses,  cowpeas,  soy  beans,  field  peas,  and  green 
manure  crops  such  as  rye,  vetch,  and  rape. 

667.  What  Crops  to  Grow.  The  crops  which  are  included 
in  the  rotation  depend  entirely  on  xne  kmd  of  i  arming  wnicn  is 


ROTATION  OF  CROPS  4^7 

followed,  the  crops  which  succeed  best  in  the  locahty,  ami 
the  individual  preferences  of  the  farmer.  All  the  farm 
need  not  necessarily  be  included  in  a  single  rotation.  It  may 
be  advisable  to  have  a  primary  rotation  for  the  greater  part 
of  the  land,  and  a  secondaiy  one  for  a  smaller  portion  of  it 
which  is  different  in  texture  or  fertihty,  or  to  supply  crops 
for  a  special  purpose.  Thus  the  greater  portion  of  the  farm 
may  be  devoted  to  the  production  of  wheat  and  potatoes, 
with  clover  to  complete  the  rotation.  A  rotation  which 
includes  these  three  crops  embraces  two  cash  crops,  wheat 
and  potatoes;  an  intertilled  crop,  potatoes;  a  crop  for  live 
stock,  clover,  with  the  wheat  straw  as  roughage  and  bedding; 
and  a  crop  to  add  humus  and  nitrogen,  clover.  Such  a 
system  would  not  supply  enough  feed  other  than  clover  hay 
for  any  large  number  of  live  stock.  If  the  section  is  adapted 
to  the  production  of  corn,  either  for  grain  or  for  forage,  that 
crop  might  be  added  to  the  rotation,  or  a  secondary  rotation 
might  be  devised  on  another  part  of  the  farm,  in  which  corn, 
oats,  and  clover  may  be  grown.  Here  all  three  crops  would 
be  suitable  for  feeding  to  live  stock;  all  might  be  considered 
as  cash  crops,  as  they  would  be  marketed  through  the  Hve- 
stock  products;  corn  would  supply  the  intertilled  crop,  and 
clover,  the  vegetable  matter. 

668.  When  to  Apply  Manure.  Many  of  the  best  systems 
of  crop  rotation,  as  alread}^  stated,  include  the  feeding  on  the 
farm  of  a  large  proportion  of  the  crops  which  are  produced, 
and  the  return  of  the  fertility  in  the  form  of  manure.  As 
a  general  thing,  this  manure  may  be  applied  to  best  advantage 
to  the  grass  crop  or  to  the  cultivated  crops.  Whenever  it  is 
practicable,  it  should  be  hauled  to  the  field  during  the  winter 
as  it  is  made,  as  the  loss  from  leaching  there  is  less  than  if  it  is 
iett  in  the  barnyard.  If  the  manure  can  be  stored  under 
cover  where  it  will  not  leach  away,  it  may  be  left  to  decay. 

Well -rotted  manure  is  less  bulky  and  likely  to  contain 
dangerous  weed  seeds  than  fresh  manure;  but  under  most 


488  FIELD  CROPS 

Other  conditions  it  should  be  appHed  to  the  field  as  soon  as 
possible,  because  there  is  less  waste  than  in  rotted  manure, 
and  the  active  rotting  of  fresh  manure  in  the  soil  warms 
it  and  aids  bacterial  and  chemical  action.  Manure  may  be 
appHed  to  meadows  at  any  time  except  during  a  few  weeks 
before  hajdng,  while  it  may  be  spread  on  pastures  through- 


Wmm 


I'igure  156.— The  manure  spreader  distributed  tlie  laauure  evenly  over  the  soil 
so  that  it  can  be  plowed  under  without  trouble  and  placed  where  it  will  be 
most  easily  reached  by  crops.  The  easiest  way  to  handle  manure  is  to  load 
it  directly  into  the  spreader  from  the  stable. 

out  the  year,  though  it  is  usually  best  to  apply  it  to  them 
during  the  winter.  In  the  South,  where  a  perennial  grass  crop 
is  not  often  grown,  manure  is  usually  put  on  the  land  before 
planting  the  principal  crop,  which  is  generally  cotton  or  corn. 

669.  Length  of  the  Rotation.  The  length  of  the  rotation 
depends  on  the  crops  which  it  includes  and  the  system  of 
farming  which  is  followed.  It  may  be  a  2-year,  3-year,  or 
4-year  rotation,  or  it  may  be  planned  for  a  much  longer  period. 
The  most  common  rotations  are  8-year,  4-year,  and  5-year  ones. 

SOME  SUGGESTIVE  ROTATIONS 

670.  Rotations  for  Various  Sections.  It  is  not  possible 
to  outline  a  single  rotation  or  even  several  rotations  which 
will  fit  all  cases,  for  that  matter  must  be  left  to  the  needs, 


SUGGESTIVE  ROTATIONS  489 

facilities,  and  inclinations  of  the  individual  farmer.  The 
rotations  that  are  suggested  here  are  in  more  or  less  common 
use,  and  include  the  principal  crops  of  the  sections  specified. 
They  may  be  varied  in  almost  innumerable  ways. 

671.  In  New  England,  special  crops  are  grown  or  special 
lines  of  farming  are  followed  in  the  different  sections,  and  the 
rotations  depend  entirely  on  the  particular  system  in  vogue 
in  the  locality.  Wliere  potatoes  are  the  main  crop,  the  rota- 
tion is  often  as  follows:  1,  potatoes;  2,  oats,  with  clover 
seeded  in  the  oats;  3,  clover.'  The  clover  may  be  left  for  two 
years,  or  the  potatoes  may  be  grown  for  two  years  in  suc- 
cession. In  the  dairy  sections,  fodder  corn  is  one  of  the 
principal  crops.  Here  the  rotation  may  be:  1,  corn,  cut  for 
silage,  followed  by  rye;  2,  rye,  plowed  under  for  green  ma- 
nure, followed  by  corn  and  rye  as  before;  3,  rye,  with  clover 
seeded  in  it;  4,  clover.  In  the  tobacco  district,  tobacco 
may  take  the  place  of  the  second  crop  of  corn. 

672.  In  the  North  Atlantic  states,  dairying  is  generally 
important.  Here  a  common  rotation  is:  1,  corn;  2,  wheat, 
seeded  to  clover  and  grass;  3,  meadow;  4,  pasture.  The 
pasture  may  be  left  for  one  or  more  years.  A  little  farther 
south,  where  cowpeas  and  crimson  clover  can  be  grown,  the 
rotation  may  be:  1,  corn;  2,  wheat,  followed  by  cowpeas; 
3,  cowpeas,  cut  early  for  hay,  followed  by  grass;  4,  meadow; 
5,  pasture.  The  simple  3-year  rotation  of  corn,  wheat, 
clover,  or  corn,  oats,  clover,  may  also  be  followed. 

673.  In  the  Southeastern  states,  rotations  are  less  com- 
mon, for  the  land  is  kept  quite  constantly  in  cotton.  On 
account  of  the  possibility  of  growing  several  crops  during 
the  year,  many  different  combinations  of  crops  may  be  made. 
One  which  includes  the  two  most  important  crops,  corn  and 
cotton,  and  also  embraces  all  the  features  of  a  good  rotation, 

1  In  this  discussion  of  rotations,  the  figures  refer  to  the  year  in  the  rotation. 
Thus,  in  the  one  just  given,  a  crop  of  potatoes  is  grown  on  a  given  piece  of  land 
the  first  year;  the  second  year  it  is  sown  to  oats,  with  clover  seeded  in  the  oats; 
while  the  third  year  it  is  a  clover  meadow  or  pasture.  If  potatoes  are  grown  for 
t'rt^o  years,  it  would  be:  1,  potatoes;  2,  potatoes;  3,  oats;  4,  clover. 


490 


FIELD  CROPS 


is:  1,  cotton,  followed  by  rye  or  bur  clover;  2,  corn,  with  cow- 
peas  sown  in  the  corn,  followed  by  winter  oats  or  winter 
barley;  3,  winter  grain  followed  by  cowpeas  cut  for  hay,  the 
land  then  being  sown  to  rye  or  some  other  winter  cover  crop. 
A  more  simple  rotation,  but  one  which  lacks  an  essential 
feature  of  all  cropping  systems  for  the  South,  the  winter  cover 
crop,  is:  1,  corn  and  cowpeas;  2,  win- 
ter grain,  followed  by  cowpeas;  3, 
cotton;  4,  cotton  or  corn.  A  simple 
alternation  may  be  followed  in  some 
sections,  such  as  cotton  and  bur  clover 
or  winter  wheat  and  cowpeas.  With 
the  addition  of  phosphorus  and  potas- 
sium, this  is  very  successful. 

674.  Rotations  in  the  Central  States. 
In  the  Central  states,  in  what  is  com- 
monly known  as  the  corn  belt,  the  one 
crop  on  which  all  systems  of  farming 
are  based  is  corn.  The  three  principal 
crops  are  corn,  wheat,  and  grass  or 
corn,  oats,  and  grass,  and  they  are  ar- 
ranged in  the  rotation  in  the  order 
named.  Two  crops  of  corn  may  be 
grown  in  succession  or  the  land  may  be  left  in  grass  for  one, 
two,  or  more  years,  either  as  meadow  or  pasture.  A  very 
common  form  of  this  rotation  is  the  5-year  one,  as  follows: 
1,  corn;  2,  corn;  3,  oats  (or wheat);  4,  meadow;  5,  pasture. 
It  is  possible  in  the  southern  part  of  the  corn  belt  to  grow 
a  crop  after  grain,  if  the  land  is  not  seeded  to  grass.  A 
rotation  embracing  this  featuremight  be  devised  like  this:  1, 
corn;  2,  oats,  followed  by  cowpeas  or  soy  beans;  3,  wheat;  i  , 
meadow;  5,  pasture. 

In  Minnesota,  Wisconsin,  and  the  Dakotas,  some  of  the 
rotations  used  in  New  York  and  New  England  may  be  profit- 
ably followed.     In  the  Dakotas  and  farther  west^  rotaticna 


1919 

CORN 

1920 

OATS 

1921 

CLOVER 

1922 

CORN 

1919 

CLOVER 

1920 

CORN 

1921 

OATS 

1922 

CLOVER 

1919 

OATS 

1920 

CLOVER 

1921 

CORN 

1922 

OATS 

Figure  157. — The  arrange- 
ment of  the  fields  and 
crops  in  a  3-year  rotation 
of  corn,  oats,  and  clover. 


ROTATIONS  IN  THE  FAR  WEST 


491 


are  not  commonly  practiced,  only  small  grain  crops  being 
extensively  grown.  A  system  of  farming  based  on  a  single 
class  of  crops  can  hardly  be  called  a  rotation.  The  land  is 
usually  sown  to  flax  when  it  is  first  broken;  wheat  is  then 
grown  for  a  period  of  years,  when  one  or  two  crops  of  oats 
or  barley  may  be  introduced,  to  be  fol- 
lowed again  by  wheat.  Under  this 
system,  weeds  increase  rapidly,  and 
it  is  often  necessary  to  resort  to  the 
bare  fallow  or,  preferably,  to  introduce 
a  cultivated  crop  to  control  them. 
The  crops  which  are  commonly  intro- 
duced are  corn  and  potatoes,  and  both 
are  usually  grown  with  success. 

675.  Rotations  in  the  Far  West. 
In  the  Great  Plains,  Rocky  Mountain, 
and  Pacific  states  the  systems  of  farm- 
ing are  yet  too  new  for  any  general 
series  of  rotations  to  have  been  adopted. 
One  which  may  be  followed  in  the  ini- 
gated  districts  embraces  three  or  four 
successive  crops  of  alfalfa,  followed  by 
one  or  two  crops  of  potatoes  or  sugar 
beets  and  perhaps  one  or  more  of  bar- 
ley, wheat,  or  oats,  when  the  land  is 
^IhrrofatT^n  in  F^gS?n57  ^gaiu  sccdod  to  alfalfa.     In  California, 
TiSothy  isTown  ItthThe  ^^  the  dry  lauds  where  grain  is  grown, 
tl7firsTyearTfte?'siS  ^  moro  or  less  definite  sequence  of 
Su'r'ed"'''^'^^^^''*'^  wheat,  barley,  and  oats  is  somethnes 
followed,  but  rotations  which  embrace 
all  the  desirable  features  are  little  known. 

LABORATORY  AND  FIELD  EXERCISES 
L  Draw  a  plan  of  the  home  farm  or  of  some  farm  in  the  neighbor- 
hood^and  siiow  the  crops  which  are  now  grown  on  it.     If  a  definite 
rciat^on  i»  xiow  /oliowed,  tell  whether  it  is  a  good  one.     If  it  is  not, 


1919 

CORN 

1920 

OATS 

1021 

MEADOW 

1922 

PASTURE 

1923 

CORN 

1919 

OATS 

1920  MEADOW            1 

1921 

PASTURE 

1922 

CORN 

1923 

OATS 

1919 

MEADOW 

1920 

PASTURE 

1921 

CORN 

1922  OATS 

1923  MEADOW 

1919  PASTURE 

1920 

CORN 

1821 

OATS 

1922  MEADOW 

1923  PASTURE 

492  FIELD  CROPS 

show  how  it  may  be  improved  to  more  nearly  meet  the  four  essentials 
of  a  good  rotation.  If  no  rotation  is  followed,  plan  one  which  is  suit- 
able for  the  type  of  farming  which  is  followed. 

2.  Plan  a  3-year  rotation,  using  the  more  important  crops  of 
your  community  and  taking  care  that  the  four  essentials  are  included. 
In  the  same  way,  plan  4-year  and  5-year  rotations. 

3.  Plan  a  rotation  which  will  be  suitable  for  a  dairy  farm  in  your 
section;  for  a  hog  and  beef-cattle  farm;  for  the  production  of  the  lead- 
ing cash  crop. 

REFERENCES 

Cyclopedia  of  American  Agriculture,  Vol  II,  Bailey. 

Field  Management  and  Crop  Rotation,  Parker. 

Farm  Crops,  Burkett. 

Farm  Development,  Hay. 

Soil  Fertility  and  Permanent  Agriculture,  Hopkins. 

Field  Crop  Production,  Livingston. 

Productive  Farm  Crops,  Montgomery. 


CHAPTER  XXVII 
WEEDS 

676.  Definition.  A  weed  is  any  plant  which  is  growing 
where  it  is  not  wanted ;  that  is,  a  plant  out  of  place.  A  stalk 
of  corn  in  an  oat  field  is  just  as  much  a  weed  as  is  a  thistle, 
though  it  may  do  less  damage  and  in  its  place  be  a  very  use- 
ful plant.  A  plant  may  thus  be  a  weed  under  some  condi- 
tions, while  it  is  not  under  others.  Many  of  the  wild  plants 
of  our  native  meadows  and  pastures  must  now  be  classed  as 
weeds,  though  before  the  land  was  put  to  use  they  could 
hardly  have  been  so  regarded.  The  smaller  plants  in  a 
forest  are  not  weeds,  for  they  are  of  use  to  shade  the  ground, 
prevent  washing,  and  protect  the  young  tree  seedlings. 

677.  Need  for  a  Study  of  Weeds.  A  study  of  weeds  is  a 
very  useful  and  necessary  part  of  a  study  of  field  crops.  In 
the  production  of  every  crop  weeds  must  be  considered.  A 
method  of  treatment  that  is  efficient  in  destroying  one  weed 
or  class  of  weeds  may  furnish  a  means  for  the  spread  of  some 
other,  and  it  is,  therefore,  necessary  to  be  able  to  recognize 
the  principal  weed  pests  and  to  know  how  to  deal  with  them. 
The  seeds  of  some  of  the  most  troublesome  weeds  frequently 
occur  in  grain  or  grass  seed;  hence  it  is  important  to  be  able 
to  recognize  them  and  to  avoid  sowing  them  with  useful  crops. 

'  CLASSES  OF  WEEDS 

678.  Basis  of  Classification.  Weeds  are  classified  accord- 
ing to  the  length  of  time  they  live,  as  annuals,  biennials,  and 
perennials.  It  is  desirable  to  know  to  which  class  any  weed 
belongs,  because  the  methods  of  combating  it  depend  very 
largely  on  whether  it  lives  one,  two,  or  several  year?,. 

493 


494 


FIELD  CROPS 


679.  Annuals.  An  annual  is  a  plant  which  makes  all  its 
growth  in  a  single  season.  The  seed  germinates  in  the  spring 
or  summer,  the  plant  produces  blossoms  and  seeds  the  same 
year,  and  then  dies.     The  seeds  of  some  annuals  germinate 

in  the  fall  and  the 
plants  live  over 
winter,  producing 
their  flowers  and 
seed  the  following 
season,  usually  dur- 
ing the  spring  and 
early  summer 
months.  These 
plants  are  known 
as  winter  annuals. 
Corn  is  an  example 
of  an  ordinary  an- 
nual, and  spring 
wheat  is  another. 
Winter  wheat,  on 
the  other  hand,  is 
a  winter  annual. 
Ragweed,  crab- 
grass,  foxtail,  and 
mayweed  are  an- 
nual weeds;  shep- 
herd's purse,  corn 
cockle,  and  cheat  are  usually  winter  annuals,  though  the 
seed  may  not  germinate  till  spring.  Annuals  spread  only 
by  means  of  their  seed. 

680.  Biennials  require  two  years  to  complete  their 
growth.  The  seeds  germinate  during  the  spring  and  summer 
of  the  first  year  and  the  plants  produce  an  extensive  root  sys- 
tem, but  do  not  develop  much  top  growth.  The  following 
spring  they  produce  a  large  growth  of  top,  blossom,  ripen 


Figure  159. — Quack  grass,  or  couch  grass. 


DAMAGE  OF  WEEDS  495 

their  seed,  and  die.  Like  annuals,  they  spread  only  from 
seed.  The  bull  thistle  and  burdock  are  famihar  examples  of 
biennials,  as  are  also  cabbage,  turnips,  beets,  and  a  number 
of  other  garden  vegetables. 

681.  Perennials.  These  are  plants  which  may  live  an 
indefinite  number  of  years.  This  class  includes  all  our  trees 
and  shrubs,  many  ornamental  plants,  and  such  garden  vege- 
tables as  rhubarb  and  asparagus.  Many  of  our  worst  weeds 
are  perennials.  Some  perennials  spread  only  from  their 
seeds;  others  have  running  rootstocks  or  underground  stems 
which  grow  from  year  to  year  and  new  plants  may  spring 
up  from  them.  Some  spread  by  means  of  both  seeds  and 
running  rootstocks.  Perennials  which  spread  only  by  seeds 
include  the  dandelion,  docks,  and  plantains.  The  Canada 
thistle  in  many  sections  spreads  only  by  its  rootstocks  and 
does  not  produce  seeds;  elsewhere  it  seeds  abundantly. 
Other  weeds  which  spread  by  both  means  are  Johnson  grass, 
quack  grass,  sow  thistle,  and  ox-eye  daisy. 

THE  DAMAGE  DONE  BY  WEEDS 

682.  Weeds  Lower  Crop  Yields.  Weeds  occupy  space 
which  is  needed  by  crops,  thus  crowding  them  out  and  shad- 
ing them.  It  is  easy  to  see  that  an  acre  of  wheat  will  yield 
less  when  Canada  thistle  or  cockle  or  kinghead  are  growing 
in  it  than  when  the  wheat  occupies  all  the  land.  In  the 
same  way,  Johnson  grass  reduces  the  yield  of  cotton,  and 
weeds  of  many  kinds  prevent  corn  from  making  a  full  crop. 
The  greatest  damage  is  often  done  early  in  the  season,  by 
shading  and  stunting  the  crop  plants  before  they  get  well 
started.  Weeds  take  plant  food  which  is  needed  by  crops. 
It  is  next  to  useless  to  apply  manure  or  fertilizer  to  land  and 
then  allow  weeds  to  use  it.  Weeds  also  take  moisture  from 
the  soil  at  a  time  when  crops  need  it  most. 

Weeds  lower  crop  yields  by  harboring  insects  and  diseases. 
In  some  cases,  weeds  are  infested  with  the  same  diseases  as 


496 


FIELD  CROPS 


are  crop  plants.  This  is  true  of  the  root  rot  of  cotton  and 
other  plants  in  the  South,  which  may  maintain  a  foothold 
in  fields  by  living  on  V7».ej£  wnen  crcp&  io  does  not  affect  are 
grown  there.  Many  weeds  of  the  mustard  family  help  to 
spread  clubroot  of  the  cabbage  and  turnip.  When  the  dis- 
eases do  not  actually 
live  on  the  weeds,  the 
latter  may  make  con- 
ditions favorable  for 
their  development  on 
crop  plants.  Thus 
rust  and  mildew  are 
produced  most  readily 
in  shady,  damp  situ- 
ations, such  as  are 
found  where  the 
growth  of  weeds  is 
rank.  Weeds  may 
harbor  insects  by  sup- 
plying them  with  food 
when  crop  plants  are 
not  available,  or  by 
furnishing  them  a  safe 
refuge  over  winter 
under  rubbish  alpng 
fence  rows  or  in  fields,  thus  adding  to  their  own  injuriousness. 
683.  Weeds  Lower  the  Value  of  Crop  Products.  The 
presence  of  weeds  or  weed  seeds  in  crop  products  often 
lowers  their  value.  Buyers  of  grain  quite  often  make  an 
unjustifiable  dockage  in  weight  or  price  for  the  presence  of 
any  noticeable  quantity  of  weed  seeds.  If  the  grower  removes 
the  seeds  before  marketing,  they  increase  the  cost  of  pro- 
duction by  the  labor  which  is  required  to  separate  them  from 
the  grain.  Weeds  in  hay  materially  affect  the  value  of  that 
product  for  the  market  or  for  feeding.     Weeds  in  grain  crops 


Figure  160. — Canada  thistle. 


DAMAGE  OF  WEEDS  497 

make  the  bundles  more  bulky  and  thus  more  twine  is  required 
to  harvest  the  crop.  They  increase  the  weight  of  the  crop 
which  must  be  handled,  both  of  grain  and  hay.  They  in- 
crease the  expense  of  gathering  the  crop  by  delaying  har- 
vesting operations,  as  in  cotton,  potato,  and  corn  fields. 
Rank,  succulent  growth  of  weeds  delays  the  curing  of  hay 
and  grain  crops,  and  may  thus  reduce  their  quality. 

684.  Weeds  Injure  Pastures.  In  addition  to  crowding 
out  useful  pasture  plants  and  using  plant  food  and  moisture, 
weeds  decrease  the  value  of  pastures  in  other  ways.  They 
may  be  distasteful  to  animals,  either  on  account  of  their  odor 
or  taste  or  because  they  are  armed  with  spines  or  thorns, 
causing  stock  to  avoid  their  vicinity  and  thus  allowing  a 
portion  of  the  useful  pasture  grasses  to  go  to  waste.  They 
may  injure  animals  which  eat  them  by  causing  irritation,  as 
in  the  case  of  the  beards  of  wild  barley  or  squirreltail  grass, 
or  they  may  be  actually  poisonous,  as  the  loco  weed  of  the 
western  prairies  and  the  laurel  of  the  Southeastern  states. 

685.  Weeds  Injure  Animal  Products.  Another  way  in 
which  weeds  injure  the  farmer  is  by  causing  a  loss  in  the  value 
of  certain  animal  products.  The  seeds  of  such  weeds  as 
burdock,  stickseed  and  cocklebur  adhere  to  wool  and  reduce 
its  value  materially.  They  also  injure  the  appearance  of 
animals  by  clinging  to  the  manes  and  tails  of  horses  and  the 
tails  of  cattle.  Other  weeds,  when  eaten  by  dairy  cows, 
cause  a  disagreeable  odor  or  taste  in  their  products.  This 
class  of  weeds  includes  the  wild  onion,  ragweed,  and  French- 
weed. 

686.  Weeds  Reduce  the  Value  of  Land.  The  presence 
of  noxious  weeds  on  a  farm  reduces  its  value  and  lessens  the 
chances  of  a  profitable  sale.  A  farm  infested  with  Canada 
thistles,  quack  grass,  or  Johnson  grass  cannot  be  sold  as 
readily  nor  at  as  high  a  price  as  one  which  is  free  from  these 
weeds.  Weeds  along  fences  and  roads  lessen  the  attractive- 
ness of  a  farm. 

32— 


498 


FIELD  CROPS 


687.  Weeds  May  Be  Injurious  to  Man.  Some  weeds 
are  actually  injurious  to  man.  They  may  cause  poisoning 
from  contact  with  them,  as  poison  ivy,  or  from  eating  them  or 
their  seeds.     Wild   parsnips  are  sometimes  eaten  for  the 

cultivated  kind,  with 
disastrous  results.  The 
seeds  of  corn  cockle 
when  ground  with 
wheat  into  flour  are 
poisonous,  as  are  the 
seeds  of  some  other 
weeds. 

BENEFITS  FROM 
WEEDS 

688.  Uses.  While 
most  weeds  are  inju- 
rious, some  may  be  of 
value  under  certain 
conditions.  Leaves  of 
dandelions  and  young 
shoots  of  pokeroot  are 
eaten  as  vegetables. 
Many  weeds  furnish 
pasture  of  more  or  less 
value,  though  none  of  our  domestic  animals  except  sheep 
ordinarily  eat  weeds  when  the  more  tender  and  nutritious 
pasture  plants  are  available.  Sheep  eat  many  kinds  of  weeds, 
and  are  very  often  useful  in  keeping  down  these  pests  in 
pastures  and  along  fences.  Weeds  furnish  a  cover  to  land 
which  is  not  in  crop,  and  may  prevent  loss  of  soil  fertiHty 
by  leaching  or  by  erosion.  Deep-rooting  weeds  bring  up 
some  plant  food  from  the  lower  layers  of  the  soil,  and  render 
it  available  for  crops  which  follow.  They  also  open  passages 
for  the  movement  of  the  soil  moisture  and  make  it  easier  for 


Figure  161. — Ragweed. 


HOW  WEEDS  SPREAD  499 

the  roots  of  crops  to  penetrate  the  subsoil.  Weeds  add  to 
the  vegetable  matter  in  the  soil  when  they  are  plowed  under 
and  increase  the  plant  food  which  is  available  for  useful 
crops  which  follow.  All  these  purposes  are  served  to  better 
advantage,  however,  by  growing  cultivated  plants  adapted 
to  the  particular  use. 

689.  Weeds  Make  Cultivation  and  Rotation  Necessary. 
Weeds  are  sometimes  commended  because  they  make  neces- 
sary the  cultivation  of  the  soil,  which  might  otherwise  be 
neglected  to  the  injury  of  crops.  This  cultivation  both 
keeps  down  weeds  and  prevents  the  loss  of  soil  moisture. 
Another  benefit  from  weeds  is  that  they  often  force  the  use 
of  a  system  of  crop  rotation  which  might  not  otherwise 
be  adopted.  Some  weeds  which  are  practically  impossible 
to  control  in  grain  fields  soon  disappear  when  a  cultivated 
crop  is  grown  or  the  land  is  seeded  to  grass.  When  mustard, 
wild  oats,  or  other  weeds  become  very  plentiful  in  fields 
where  small  grain  is  grown  continuously,  they  can  best  be 
checked  by  growing  a  crop  of  corn  or  potatoes  and  culti- 
vating it  thoroughly.  This  practice  is  good,  even  when  no 
weeds  are  present,  but  it  might  not  be  adopted  if  the  weeds 
had  not  compelled  its  use.  Many  weeds  of  meadows  and 
pastures  are  easily  killed  by  cultivation.  Thus  the  rotation 
of  crops  is  an  efficient  means  of  subduing  weeds. 

HOW  WEEDS  SPREAD 

690.  Dissemination.  Some  weeds  have  few  or  limited 
means  of  distribution,  while  others  are  provided  with  many 
agencies  of  dissemination.  Natural  agencies,  such  as  the 
movement  of  wind  and  water,  play  a  large  part  in  the  spread 
of  weeds.  Animals,  both  wild  and  domestic,  carry  the  seeds 
from  place  to  place.  The  activities  of  man,  however,  are 
perhaps  the  greatest  factor  in  spreading  weeds. 

691.  iN'atural  Agencies.  An  important  natural  agency 
by  which  weeds  spread  is  the  movement  of  air  currents.     The 


500  FIELD  CROPS 

seeds  of  many  plants  are  so  light  or  they  are  provided  with 
appendages  of  such  a  nature  that  they  are  easily  carried  long 
distances  by  the  wind.  The  seeds  of  the  milkweed,  thistle, 
and  dandelion  spread  more  widely  by  winds  than  by  any 
other  means.  Some  plants,  as  the  tumbleweeds  and  the 
Russian  thistle,  retain  their  seeds  in  the  capsules  for  several 
months  after  they  ripen.  The  stems  are  broken  off  by  the 
winter  winds  and  driven  across  the  fields,  distributing  their 
seeds  as  they  go.  Some  seeds  which  are  not  readily  carried 
by  wind  alone  are  carried  by  drifting  snow. 

Water  is  an  efficient  agent  in  the  spread  of  weeds.  The 
seeds  may  float  on  its  surface,  or  they  may  be  carried  along 
with  soil  or  driftwood.  The  roots  or  branches  of  weeds  may 
be  washed  out  by  sudden  freshets  or  the  cutting  away  of 
stream  banks  and  be  carried  to  new  locations.  Bottom 
lands  are  ordinarily  infested  with  weeds,  as  the  seeds  are 
washed  down  from  the  surrounding  higher  lands  and  depos- 
ited on  the  bottoms. 

Some  plants  are  provided  with  special  mechanisms  which 
aid  in  their  dissemination.  The  vetches  and  some  members 
of  the  pea  family  have  pods  that  twist  suddenly  when  they 
open,  throwing  the  seeds  in  different  directions.  Others, 
like  the  wild  oats,  have  twisted  awns  or  appendages  which 
coil  or  uncoil  with  changes  in  the  weather  and  aid  in  burying 
the  seeds.  Various  other  plants  are  provided  with  special 
means  of  distribution  of  this  nature,  but  these  are  seldom 
efficient  in  spreading  the  plant  for  any  distance. 

Another  means  by  which  plants  spread,  but  which  tends 
to  locahze  them  unless  assisted  by  water,  animals,  or  man,  is 
by  the  extension  of  their  own  growth.  Quack  grass,  Canada 
thistle,  Johnson  grass,  and  many  other  plants  increase  by 
means  of  running  rootstocks,  which  send  up  shoots  at  inter- 
vals and  form  new  plants.  Others,  like  crabgrass,  have 
creeping  or  running  stems  which  root  at  the  joints  and  may 
form  new  plants,  if  broken  off. 


HOW  WEEDS  SPREAD  501 

692.  Animals.  Wild  and  domestic  animals  both  aid  in 
carrying  weeds  from  place  to  place.  Some  weed  seeds  are 
provided  with  hooks  which  cling  to  the  wool  or  hair,  as  the 
cocklebur,  burdock,  and  beggar's-ticks.  Others  are  stored 
as  food  by  animals  or  by  birds  and  are  forgotten,  springing 
up  as  plants  in  new  locations  the  following  year.  Ground 
squirrels,  prairie  dogs,  and  other  burrowing  animals  store 
large  quantities  of  grass  and  weed  seeds,  not  all  of  which  are 
consumed,  and  some  of  which  are  not  buried  so  deeply  that 
they  fail  to  grow.  Weed  seeds  are  eaten  by  birds,  carried 
by  them  for  long  distances,  and  then,  passing  through  their 
digestive  systems  unharmed,  are  dropped  in  new  localities. 
Branches  of  weeds  bearing  seeds  may  be  used  by  birds  or 
animals  in  building  nests  and  thus  disseminated.  The 
droppings  of  live  stock  furnish  a  local  means  of  distribution 
from  one  field  of  the  farm  to  another  when  animals  are 
changed  from  pasture  to  pasture  or  worked  in  the  field. 

693.  The  Activities  of  Man.  Human  operations  furnish 
many  of  the  methods  of  weed  distribution,  some  of  which  are 
hardest  to  counteract.  Vehicles  along  roads  or  from  fields 
often,  particularly  in  damp  weather,  carry  seed  in  the  mud 
which  sticks  to  them.  Tillage  implements  and  the  work  of 
tillage  furnish  another  means  of  distribution.  Weed  seeds 
or  the  weeds  themselves  may  be  carried  from  place  to  place 
on  the  implements,  or  may  be  moved  with  the  movement  of 
earth  in  tillage.  Roots  of  perennial  weeds  are  often  carried 
by  tillage  tools;  for  this  reason,  poor  or  occasional  cultiva- 
tion of  fields  infested  with  quack  grass,  Johnson  grass,  or 
weeds  that  spread  by  similar  means  is  often  worse  than  no 
cultivation  at  all.  Threshing  machinery  furnishes  a  ready 
means  by  which  weed  seeds  are  carried  from  farm  to  farm. 

Railroads  are  a  great  agency  in  the  spread  of  weeds,  as 
they  often  carry  weed  seeds  long  distances  in  the  bedding 
of  cars,  in  shipments  of  grain,  and  in  other  material.  The 
seeds  may  drop  out  along  the  right  of  way  or  be  cleaned  out 


502  FIELD  CROPS 

with  the  bedding  at  terminal  points.  In  the  latter  case,  they 
are  very  likely  to  be  transported  to  near-by  farms  in  manure. 
Many  weeds  first  appear  in  new  localities  along  the  railroads, 
and  then  spread  to  adjoining  fields. 

Packing  material  for  nursery  stock  and  other  articles 
which  are  brought  to  the  farm  from  distant  points  furnishes 
another  means  for  the  spread  of  weeds.  Weed  seeds  are  also 
carried  from  farm  to  farm  or  from  one  locality  to  another  in 
grain  and  hay  which  are  purchased  for  feeding.  The  seeds 
pass  into  the  manure  and  are  then  spread  to  the  fields. 

The  sowing  of  weed  seeds  with  grain,  grass,  or  clover  seeds 
is  one  of  the  most  frequent  methods  by  which  the  dissemi- 
nation of  these  pests  is  effected. 

METHODS  OF  ERADICATION 

694.  Weed  Laws.  Many  states  have  adopted  laws  to 
prevent  the  spread  of  weeds.  Weed  control  laws  are  of  two 
forms,  those  which  require  the  destruction  of  certain  weeds 
along  roads  and  railroad  rights  of  way  and,  in  some  cases, 
in  fields,  and  those  which  are  aimed  to  control  the  dissemi- 
nation of  weed  seeds  in  the  seeds  of  grain  and  grasses  sold  by 
dealers.  The  laws  in  the  various  states  differ  greatly  in 
their  stringency  and  efficiency,  some  states  being  practically 
without  legal  means  of  weed  control. 

695.  Annual  Weeds.  One  of  the  most  effective  means  of 
eradicating  annual  weeds  is  to  prevent  them  from  producing 
seeds.  As  they  have  no  other  means  of  living  over  from  year 
to  year,  annual  weeds  would  soon  be  destroyed  if  seed  pro- 
duction were  entirely  prevented.  This,  of  course,  is  not 
practical,  but  every  possible  means  should  be  used  to  reduce 
the  number  of  seeds  which  mature.  Weeds  of  all  kinds  are 
killed  very  easily  when  they  are  small  by  stirring  the  soil 
sufficiently  to  expose  their  roots  to  the  sun.  Harrowing  or 
disking  will  destroy  weeds  soon  after  the  seeds  germinate, 
which  perhaps  would  survive  much  more  severe  treatment 


ERADICATION  OF  WE  ED  8 


503 


a  few  weeks  later.  The  frequent  use  of  the  cultivator  helps 
to  keep  down  annual  and  other  weeds  in  cultivated  fields. 
Various  methods  of  preventing  annual  weeds  from  producing 
seed  are  suggested  in  the  paragraphs  which  follow  on  the 
treatment  of  weeds  in  special  crops. 

696.  Biennial  Weeds. 
Biennial  weeds  are  nei- 
ther as  numerous  nor  as 
difficult  to  eradicate  as 
the  annuals  with  their 
great  powers  of  seed  pro- 
duction, or  the  perennials 
with  their  persistent 
roots.  Cutting  off  the 
plants  below  the  crown 
during  the  first  year  or  at 
any  time  in  the  second 
before  the  flowers  are 
produced  will  kill  bien- 
nial weeds.  Biennial  weeds  are  seldom  troublesome  in  cul- 
tivated fields,  for  they  are  usually  destroyed  by  plowing. 
In  other  locations,  the  quickest  and  easiest  method  is  to  cut 
off  the  plants  below  the  surface  of  the  ground  with  a  small 
spade. 

697.  Perennial  Weeds.  Cultivation  is  the  most  efficient 
means  of  destroying  perennial  weeds.  Smothering  the  roots 
by  preventing  them  from  producing  leaves,  by  frequent  cul- 
tivation, by  covering  with  straw  or  other  material,  or  by 
sowing  with  some  quick-growing  crop  like  rape  or  sorghum, 
is  often  successful.  One  of  the  best  ways  of  eradicating  per- 
sistent perennials  is  to  plow  them  under  about  the  time  the 
plants  are  coming  into  bloom  and  to  cultivate  the  land  so 
thoroughly  during  the  rest  of  the  season  with  the  disk  or 
spike-tooth  harrow  as  to  prevent  them  from  producing  leaves. 
The  next  season  the  land  may  be  put  into  a  cultivated  crop 


rigure    162. — Squirreltail. 


504 


FIELD  CROP 8 


such  as  corn,  cotton,  or  potatoes.  A  smother  crop  may  occa- 
sionally be  substituted  for  the  frequent  harrowings  of  the 
first  year,  with  as  good  results  and  with  far  less  expense, 
though  this  method  is  not  reliable,  on  account  of  the  difficulty 

of  getting  a  stand  sufficiently 
thick  in  everj^  part  of  the  field 
to  thoroughly  smother  the  weed 
growth. 

698.  Weeds  in  Cultivated 
Fields.  There  is  less  excuse 
for  weeds  in  cultivated  fields 
than  almost  anywhere  else. 
The  seeds  of  cultivated  plants 
are  not  too  small  to  be  sepa- 
rated readily  from  weed  seeds, 
while  the  frequent  cultivation 
which  is  given  should  be  ef- 
fective in  keeping  down  an)^ 
weeds  that  appear  after  the 
crop  is  planted.  Cultivation 
sometimes  fails  to  serve  its 
purpose,  because  the  work  is 
not  done  frequently  enough  or  at  the  right  time,  oris  not 
thorough.  The  most  effective  cultivation  may  be  given 
before  the  crop  is  planted.  The  land  should  be  well  plow- 
ed, and,  if  it  is  left  without  a  crop  for  any  length  of  time 
during  the  growing  season,  it  should  be  disked  and  har- 
rowed at  intervals  of  a  week  or  ten  days  to  kill  any  weeds 
that  start.  Small  weeds  are  very  rapidly  and  effectively 
destroyed  with  a  harrow  or  weeder.  The  land  should  be 
harrowed  just  before  the  crop  is  planted,  and  the  harrowing 
may  usually  be  repeated  a  few  days  later,  either  just  before 
or  just  after- it  comes  up. 

With  some  intertilled  crops,  the  first  two  or  three  culti- 
vations can  be  given  very  rapidly  and  cheaply  with  the  hur- 


Figure   103.— Hull   thistli 


ERADICATION  OF  WEEDS 


$05 


row  or  weeder.  Later  cultivations  should  be  with  tools  that 
stir  the  surface  soil  sufficiently  to  kill  small  weeds  and  main- 
tain a  dust  mulch.  Weeds  that  come  up  in  the  row  should  be 
hoed  or  pulled  out  if  necessary,  though  they  may  often  be 
destroyed  when  small  by  covering  them  with  earth  in  culti- 
vating. Cultivation 
should  be  continued  as 
long  as  possible  without 
injury  to  the  growing 
crop,  or  until  the  ground 
is  completely  shaded. 
Poor  cultivation,  es- 
pecially on  fields  that  are 
infested  with  perennial 
weeds,  is  often  worse 
than  none  at  all,  as  it  sim- 
ply serves  to  spread  the 
weeds.  Among  the  most 
common  weeds  of  culti- 
vated crops  are  nut 
grass,  Johnson  grass,  fox- 
tail, crabgrass,  quack 
grass,  knotweed,  morn- 
ing-glory, velvet  weed, 
milkweed,  Canada  this- 
tle, sow  thistle,  ragweed, 
and  kinghead.     Weeds  and  poor  farming  go  together. 

699.  Weeds  of  Grain  Fields.  In  wheat,  oat,  barley, 
and  other  small-grain  fields,  less  opportunity  is  afforded  for 
the  destruction  of  weeds  than  in  cultivated  crops.  Here 
most  of  the  work  must  be  done  before  the  seed  is  sown.  The 
same  kind  of  preparation,  so  far  as  possible,  should  be  given 
as  has  already  been  recommended  for  land  which  is  to  be 
planted  to  cultivated  crops.  Great  care  should  be  taken 
to  insure  the  sowing  of  clean  seed.    It  is  of  little  use  to  harrow 


ritiure  1(34. — Wild  buckwheat,  or  kiiotwdd, 
allowing  the  way  in  which  it  twines  around 
crop  plants  with  which  it  is  growing. 


506  FIELD  CROPS 

and  disk  land  to  clear  it  of  weeds  and  then  put  on  a  new  sup- 
ply of  weed  seeds  with  the  seed  grain.  The  harrow  or  weed- 
er  may  often  be  used  in  fields  of  drilled  grain  to  destroy  small 
weeds  during  the  first  few  weeks  of  spring.  The  harrowing 
should  be  done  with  the  drill  rows  rather  than  across  them. 


Figure  165.     Blossom  and  root  of  wild  mustard;  also  (1)  the  ripe  seed  pod;  (2) 
the  blossom,  and  (3)  the  seeds. 

Harrowing  broadcast  grain  will  help  to  keep  down  weeds, 
but  it  will  also  reduce  the  stand  of  grain.  Ragweed  and  other 
weeds  which  come  up  in  grain  fields  after  harvest  may  be 
prevented  from  seeding  by  mowing  them  when  they  first 
come  into  bloom,  by  pasturing,  preferably  with  sheep,  or  by 
disking  the  land. 

Among  the  common  weeds  of  grain  fields  are  wild  oats, 
wild  garlic,  wild  mustard,  Frenchweed,  peppergrass,  smart- 
weed,  Russian  thistle,  knot  weed,  wild  morning-glory,  corn 
cockle,  milkweed,  marsh  elder,  ragweed,  kinghead,  Canada 
thistle,  and  sow  thistle. 


ERADICATION  OF  WEEDS 


507 


700.  spraying.  The  use  of  chemicals  in  destroying  weeds 
in  grain  fields,  and  to  a  lesser  extent  in  meadows,  pastures, 
and  lawns,  has  come  into  prominence  in  recent  years.  If 
appUed  while  the  plants  are  young,  the  chemical  spray  is 
effective  in  killing  practically  all  broad-leaved  plants,  while 
it  does  little  injury  to  the  grains  and  grasses.     A  single 


Figure.  166. — The  result  of  spraying  grain  fields  with  iron  sulphate.  The  portion 
at  the  left  has  been  sprayed;  the  unsprayed  portion  at  the  right  appears  to  be 
a  solid  mass  of  mustard. 

appHcation  will  kill  many  annual  weeds  and  young  plants 
of  the  biennials  and  perennials,  but  several  applications  must 
be  made  to  kill  the  older  perennials,  as  only  the  top  growth 
will  be  destroyed  by  the  earlier  sprayings.  The  most  com- 
mon chemical  which  is  used  is  iron  sulphate,  at  the  rate  of 
100  pounds  to  50  gallons  of  water.  About  50  gallons  of  the 
solution  are  required  to  spray  an  acre.  The  weeds  which 
can  be  successfully  treated  with  this  spray  include  wild 
mustard,  Frenchweed,  peppergrass,  shepherd's  purse,  rag- 
weed, kinghead,  and  marsh  elder.     It  is  less  effective  on 


508  FIELD  CROPS 

Canada  thistle,  dandelion,  and  other  more  persistent  weeds, 
unless  the  treatment  is  repeated  several  times.  Clover  and 
alfalfa  are  injured  more  or  less  by  any  chemical  spray. 

701.  Weeds  in  Meadows.  As  in  grain  fields,  prevention 
is  more  effective  than  after  treatment  in  dealing  with  weeds 
in  meadows.  The  land  should  be  in  good  condition  when  the 
seed  is  sown,  and  the  seed  itself  should  be  free  from  weed 
seeds.  Clipping  the  field  in  the  fall  after  the  land  has  been 
seeded  to  grass  Avill  prevent  many  weeds  from  seeding.  The 
seeding  of  weeds  in  older  meadows  may  often  be  prevented 
by  cutting  the  hay  crop  a  little  earlier  than  would  otherwise 
be  done.  Such  weeds  as  burdock,  bull  thistle,  and  mullein 
may  be  exterminated  by  cutting  them  off  below  the  crown 
before  they  produce  seed.  Breaking  up  the  meadow  and 
practicing  a  rotation  of  crops  may  be  the  only  effective 
means  of  eradicating  some  perennial  weeds.  The  most  com- 
mon weeds  of  meadows  are  morning-glory,  milkweed,  dock, 
sheep  sorrel,  toadflax,  ox-eye  daisy,  the  plantains,  orange 
hawkweed,  Canada  and  other  thistles,  and  quack  grass. 

702.  Weeds  in  Pastures.  In  pastures,  the  methods  of 
eradicating  weeds  are  much  the  same  as  in  meadows.  Per- 
sistent weeds  may  make  it  necessary  to  break  up  the  pasture 
and  grow  a  cultivated  crop.  Where  it  is  not  practicable  to 
do  so,  repeated  mowings  when  in  blossom  or  cutting  biennial 
and  perennial  weeds  below  the  surface  of  the  ground  will 
eventually  weaken  them  and  prevent  their  spread.  Sheep 
render  great  assistance  in  keeping  down  weeds  in  pavStures. 
Among  the  more  common  pasture  weeds  in  different  sections 
of  the  country  are  squirreltail  grass,  or  wild  barley,  broom 
sedge,  blue  vervain,  sheep  sorrel,  Russian  thistle,  milkweed, 
mullein,  yarrow,  and  Canada,  bull,  and  sow  thistles. 

703.  Roadside  Weeds.  The  weeds  of  roadsides  are  usu- 
ally much  the  same  as  those  of  meadows  and  pastures,  though 
on  new  grading  annual  weeds  are  likely  to  make  a  rank 
growth.     Mowing  two  or  three  times  during  the  season  to 


4-t. 


REFERENCES  ^^"^^i^^d 

prevent  the  production  of  seed,  and  seeding  the  roadsides 
heavily  to  grass  and  clover  will  keep  down  weeds  and  pre- 
vent their  spread  to  adjoining  fields.  Common  roadside 
weeds  are  ragweed, kinghead,  sunflowers,  marsh  elder,  cockle- 
bur,  bull  thistle,  Jimson  weed,  velvetweed,  and  sweet  clover. 

LABORATORY  AND  FIELD  EXERCISES 

1.  Let  each  member  of  the  class  bring  in  five  weeds.  Learn  the 
names  of  these  weeds  and  describe  their  most  important  characteristics. 
This  study  should  include  their  habit  of  growth,  duration  and  nature 
of  root  system,  time  of  seeding,  seed  habits,  and  characters  which  make 
eradication  easy  or  difficult. 

2.  Make  a  stud}^  of  weed  seeds,  so  that  each  member  of  the  class 
will  learn  to  recognize  the  more  common  weed  seeds  in  various  kinds 
of  field  seeds.  Samples  of  grain  and  forage-crop  seeds  brought  in  or 
prepared,  containing  weed  seeds,  may  be  inspected  and  the  weed  seed 
separated  and  identified.  Many  of  the  experiment  stations  put  up 
cases  containing  small  samples  of  the  more  common  weed  seeds,  which 
may  be  obtained  at  small  cost  and  used  for  purposes  of  identification. 

3.  If  small  vials  or  cases  can  be  provided,  each  pupil  might  make  a 
collection  of  the  seeds  of  the  most  common  weeds  of  the  \acinity.  This 
exercise  will  be  of  much  value  in  identifying  weed  seeds  in  the  seeds 
of  field  crops. 

REFERENCES 

Cyclopedia  of  American  Agriculture,  Vol.  II,  Bailey.. 

Farm  Weeds  of  Canada,  Clark. 

Common  Weeds  of  the  Farm,  Long. 

Weeds  of  the  Farm  and  Garden,  Pammel. 

Weeds  and  How  to  Eradicate  Them,  Shaw. 

Manual  of  Weeds,  Georgia. 

Farmers'  Bul'itliis: 

279.  A  Method  of  Eradicating  Johnson  Grass. 

382.  The  Adulteration  of  Forage-Plant  Seeds. 

428.  Testing  Farm  Seeds  in  the  Home  and  in  the  Rural  School. 

610.  Wild  Onion:  Methods  of  Eradication. 

660.  Weeds:  How  to  Control  Them. 

678.  Eradication  of  Ferns  from  Pasture  Lands  in  the  Eastern 
United  States. 

833.  Methods  of  Controlling  or  Eradicating  Wild  Oats  in  the 
Hard  Spring  Wheat  Area. 


INDEX 


Absorption  of  water,  31. 

Agriculture,  definition  of,  12. 

Air,  31,  38. 

Alcohol,  108. 

Alfalfa. 

Composition,  363;    curing,    360;    de- 

cription,  351;  diseases,  365;  harvest- 

g,    361;   inoculation,    358;    insects, 

64;    making    nay,    359;    meal,    364; 

Qurse  crop,  358;  origin  and  history, 

351;  pasture,  364;  preparation  of  the 

land,  356;  production,  353;  rotations, 

361;  soiling,  364;  soils  and  fertilizers, 

355;  sowing,  356;  time  to  seed,  357; 

treatment    of    meadows,    359;    uses, 

363;  varieties,  353;  yield,  354. 

Alsike  clover. 

Adaptation,  348;  characters,  348; 
curing,  348;  sowing,  348. 

Annual  grasses,  315. 

Annual  weeds,  494,  502. 

Army  worm.  111,  159. 

Assimilation,  26. 

Bacteria,  330,  358. 

Barberry,  156. 

Barley. 

Acre  value,  209;  botanical  characters, 
197;  by-products,  212;  classification, 
198;  cost  of  production,  210;  cutting, 
207;  diseases,  213;  exports  and  im- 
ports, 209;  fertilizers  and  manures, 
204;  grades,  208;  harrowing,  207; 
harvesting,  207;  hay  and  pastiire, 
213;  importance,  201;  improvement, 
214;  judging,  215;  malt,  211;  market- 
ing, 208;  nurse  and  smother  crop, 
210;  origin  and  history,  197;  prepara- 
tion of  land,  205;  preparing  the  seed, 
206;  production,  201;  prices,  209; 
rotation,  210;  score  card,  215;  shock- 
ing, 207;  soils,  204;  storing,  208; 
threshing,  208;  uses,  211;  varieties, 
201. 

Barnyard  millet,  325. 

Bean. 

Field,  281;  soy,  374;  velvet,  387. 

Beet,  garden,  389. 

Beet,  sugar. 

By-products,  431;  characters,  390, 
426;  cultivation,  428;  description, 
426;  importance,  427;  manufacture 
of  sugar,  430;  preparation  of  soil, 
390;  production  of  seed,  429;  seeding, 
391;  soil,  390;  storing,  429. 


Beggar's-ticks,  501. 

Bermuda  grass. 

Cultivation,  306;  description,  305; 
eradication,  307;  origin,  305;  uses, 
306. 

Billion  dollar  grass,  325. 

Blue  grass. 

Canada,  297;  Kentucky,  296. 

Blue  vervain,  508. 

Bordeaux  mixture,  416. 

Bread,  153,  221. 

Brewer's  grains,  212. 

Brome  grass. 

Cultivation,  311;  description,  310; 
importance,  310;  origin,  310;  related 
plants,  310;  seeding,  311;  uses,  312. 

Broomcorn. 

Culture,  245;  curing,  246;  harvesting, 
246;  marketing,  246. 

Buckwheat. 

Botanical  description,  248;  cultiva- 
tion, 249;  importance,  248;  origin  and 
history,  247;  uses,  250;  varieties,  248. 

Bull  thistle,  495,  508,  509. 

Burdock,  495,  501,  508. 

Cabbage,  395. 

Calcium,  35,  38. 

Canada  thistle,  495,  497,  500. 

Carbon  dioxide,  35,  38. 

Carrots,  393. 

Cerealine,  108. 

Chard,  389. 

Cheat,  310,  494. 

Chinch  bugs,  112. 

Chlorine,  35. 

Chlorophyll,  35. 

Classification  of  crops,  11. 

Clovers. 

Alsike,  348;  crimson,  348;  mammoth, 
333;  red,  333;  white,  346. 

Club  wheat,  127. 

Cockle,  495. 

Cocklebur,  501,  509. 

Corn. 

Acreage,  yield,  value,  52,  53,  54; 
botanical  characters,  46;  classifica- 
tion, 47;  cost  of  production,  81,  91; 
cultivation,  72;  cultivators,  73;  dent, 
48;  ear  test,  64;  exports,  90;  flint,  49; 
fodder,  82;  germination,  64;  grades, 
89;  grading  seed,  63;  harvesting,  77; 
hogging  off,  81;  importance,  51;  im- 
provement, 114;  inbreeding,  117;  in- 
sects, 110;  judging,  119;  kernels,  104; 


511 


612 


FIELD  CROPS 


fc1Pjl"'ting  Ttid  returns,  88;  origin 
and  description,  45;  manufactured 
procucts,  108;  pasturing,  81;  planters, 
71;  planting,  67;  preparation  of  soil, 
69;  production  of,  51;  pop,  50;  rota- 
tions, 93;  selection  of  seed,  97;  seed 
corn  plat,  118;  score  cards,  120; 
shredding,  80;  silage,  86;  storing,  79, 
105;  stover,  80;  sweet,  49;  time  to 
mature,  47;  uses,  107;  varieties,  50, 
116. 

Corncrib,  79. 

Corn  grader,  64. 

Corn  cockle,  494,  498,  506. 

Cornmeal,  108. 

Corn  oil,  108. 

Cotton. 

Bale,  452;  botanical  description,  439; 
cultivation,  448;  diseases,  455;  Egyp- 
tion,  440;  exports  and  imports,  453; 
ginning,  451;  grades,  453;  growing, 
446;  harvesting,  450;  importance, 
442;  insects,  456;  marketing,  452; 
origin  and  history,  438;  picking,  450; 
planting,  447;  preparation  of  the 
land,  446;  production,  443;  prices, 
453;  Sea  Island,  440;  soils  and 
fertilizers,  445;  uses,  454;  varieties, 
441. 

Cowpea. 

Description,  367;  diseases,  373;  grow- 
ing, 370;  harvesting,  381;  hay,  390; 
importance,  369;  insects,  373;  origin, 
367;  rotation,  373;  soil  improver, 
372;  soils  and  fertilizers,  369;  stock 
feed,  381;  varieties,  368, 

Crabgrass,  494,  500,  505. 

Creeping  bent  grass,  302. 

Crimson  clover. 

Characters,  348;  sowing,  349;  value, 
349. 

Crops. 

Choice  of,  20;  classes,  13;  fiber,  17, 
437;  field,  12;  food,  19;  forage,  16, 
253;  grain,  14,  45;  relative  importance, 
13;  root,  17,  389;  sugar,  18,  426; 
stimulant,  19,  461;  tuber,  17,  399; 
uses  of,  19. 

Crows,  113. 

Cutworms,  111. 

Dandelion,  495,  508 

Dent  corn,  48. 

Depth  to  plant  seeds,  25. 

Diversification  of  crops,  21. 

Dock,  495.  508. 

Durra,  243. 

Durum  wheat,  130. 

Elements  of  plant  food,  34. 

Emmer,  127. 

English  rye  grass,  313. 


Ergot,  223. 

Fanning  mill,  139. 

Fertilization,  41. 

Fertilizers.     See  under  different  crops. 

Fescues,  313. 

Feterita,  243. 

Fibers,  17. 

Fiber  plants. 

Classes,  437;  cotton,  438;  flax,  457; 
hemp,  457;  jute,  459-  manila,  459; 
sisal,  459. 

Field  bean. 

Cultivation,  381;  harvesting,  382; 
planting,  381;  production,  381;  thresh- 
ing, 382. 

Field  crops. 

Classification,  11;  definition,  12;  rela- 
tive importance,  13. 

Field  pea. 

Description,  379;  growing,  380;  hay, 
380;  importance,  379-  origin,  379; 
uses,  381. 

Flax. 

Acre  value,  238;  botanical  characters, 
225;  diseases,  233;  grades,  232;  grow- 
ing, 228;  harvesting  and  handling, 
231;  importance,  227;  improvement, 
235;  insects,  233;  markets,  232;  origin 
and  history,  225;  preparation  of  the 
land,  229;  preparing  the  seed,  229; 
prices,  233;  production,  227;  rotation, 
234;  soils,  228;  sowing,  230;  uses, 
234;  wilt,  233. 

Flax  wilt,  233. 

Flint  corn,  49. 

Flour,  153. 

Flowers,  40,  41. 

Fodder  corn,  83. 

Food,  plant,  34. 

Forage  crops. 

Classes,  254;  definitions,  253;  essen- 
tials, 257;  feeding  values,  259;  im- 
portance, 254;  nutrients,  258;  pro- 
duction, 255;  uses,  256; 

Formaldehyde    treatment,    158,    417. 

Foxtail,  494,  505. 

Foxtail  millet,  321. 

Frenchweed,  506. 

German  millet,  325. 

Germination,  24,  64,  103,  263. 

Gophers,  113. 

Grain  crops  defined,  14. 

Grain  sorghums,  241. 

Grasshoppers,  113,  159. 

Grasses. 

Barnyard  millet,  325;  Bermuda  grass, 
305;  brome  grass,  310;  broomcorn 
millet,  324;  Canada,  297;  characters, 
287;  comparative  values,  289;  defini- 
tion, 287;  differences,  288;  English  rye, 


INDEX 


il3 


313;  fescues,  313;  forage  grasses,  315 
foxtail  millets,  321;  importance,  289 
Italian  rye,  313;  Johnson  grass,  308 
Kentucky  blue  grass,  290;  miscellane- 
ous,   312;    orchard   grass,    303;    pearl 
millet,    325;    perennial,    291;    quack 
grass,  312;  redtop,  301;  rescue,  310; 
rye   grasses,    313;    Sudan   grass,    320, 
sorghums,  315;  teosinte,  326;  timothy, 
291;     wood     meadow,     297;     wheat 
grasses,  312. 
Grass  sorghums,  315. 
Growth  of  plants,  23. 
Hairy  vetch,  386. 
Hay. 

Acre  yield,  272;  baling,  278;  curing, 
275;    cutting,    275;    machinery,    277; 
market  classes,  279;  measuring,  278; 
plants,  271;  production,  271;  storing, 
277;  time  to  cut,  273;  value,  272. 
Heat,  38. 
Hemp,  457. 
Hessian  fly,  158. 
Hogging  off  corn,  81. 
Hominy,  108. 

Horticulture,  definition,  12. 
Humus,  36. 
Hungarian  millet,  325. 
Hybrids,  42. 
Improvement  of  plants,  42,  and  under 

separate  crops. 
Inbreeding,  117. 
Inoculation,  330,  35S. 
Insects,  110.     See  under  various  crops. 
Iron,  35. 

Italian  rye  grass,  313. 
Japan  clover,  385. 
Jimson  weed,  509. 
Johnson  grass. 

As  weed,  495;  description,  308;  eradi- 
cation, 309;  importance,  308;  origin, 
308. 
Judging.      See  imder  vaiious  crops. 
Jute,  459. 
Kafir  corn,  243 
Kale,  396. 
Kaoliang,  243. 
Kentucky  blue  grass. 

Care  of  lawns,  300;  harvesting,  300; 
importance,  298;  origin  and  descrip- 
tion,   296;     pasturing,    299;    related 
plants,    297;   seeding,   299;  soils  and 
fertilizers,  298. 
Kinghead,  495,  506,  509. 
Knotweed,  505. 
Kohl-rabi,  395. 
Leaching,  59. 
Leaves,  LTse  of,  26. 
33— 


Legumes. 

Bur    clovers,    384;    characters,    327; 
conditions  necessary  for  bacteria,  330; 
cowpea,   367;   definition,   327;   differ- 
ences, 328;  field  bean,  381;  field  pea, 
379;  how  they  gather  nitrogen,  329; 
importance,     328;    inoculation,     330; 
Japan  clover,   385;   peanut,  376;  soy 
bean,  374;  sweet  clover,  382;  velvet 
bean,  387;  veteJ-€s,  385. 
Lespedeza,  385. 
Lime,  35. 
Lint,  440. 
Magnesium,  35. 
Malt,  210. 
Malt  sprouts,  212. 
Mammoth  clover,  333. 
Mangels. 

Cultivation,     392;     harvesting,     392; 
seeding,    391;    soil    and    preparation, 
350;  storing,  253;  uses,  393. 
Manila,  459. 

Manures.      See  under  various  crops. 
Marsh  elder,  506,  509 
Mayweed,  494. 
Meadow. 

Aftermath.    268;    alfalfa,    359;    care, 
267;  depth  to  cover  seed,  266;  essen- 
tials, 260;  formation,  260;  germination 
test,  263;  importance  of  plants,  206; 
nurse     crop,     265;     permanent,     209; 
preparing  land,  262;  rate  of  seeding, 
266;     rotation,     269;     seeding,     205; 
selection   of  seed,   263;  sowing,   201. 
Medical  crops,  19. 
Mildew,  490. 
Milkweed,  500,  500,  508. 
Millets. 

Barnyard,  325;  broomcorn,  250;  com- 
mon, 322;  foxtail,  321;  German,  322; 
Hungarian,    322;    pearl,    325;    types. 
250;  varieties,  252. 
Milo  maize,  243. 
Morning-glory,  505,  508. 
Mullein,  508. 
Navy  bean,  381. 
Nitrogen,  34,  37,  38. 
Nurse  crops,    153,    188,   210,   265,   339, 

358. 
Oatmeal,  189. 
Oats. 

Acre  yield,  170;  botanical  characters, 
164;  by-products,  190;  classification, 
165;  cost  of  production,  185;  cutting, 
178;  depth  to  cover,  177;  diseases, 
191;  exports  and  imports,  183;  grades, 
182;  harrowing,  177;  harvesting,  178; 
hay  and  pasture,  190;  importance. 
168;  improvement,  193;  insects,  191; 
irrigation,  178;  judging,  194-*  naanure 


614 


FIELD  CROPS 


and  fertilizers,  172;  marketing,  182; 
nurse  crop,  187;  origin  and  history, 
163;  preparing  the  land,  173;  pre- 
paring seed,  175;  prices,  183;  produc- 
tion, 168;  rate  of  seeding,  176;  rota- 
tion, 186;  score  card,  194;  seeding 
implements,  177;  stocking,  179;  soil, 
171;  sowing  with  other  grains,  188; 
stacking,  180;  storing,  182;  straw, 
190;  threshing,  181;  time  for  sowing, 
175;  uses,  188;  varieties,  167. 

Orange  hawkweed,  508. 

Orchard  grass. 

Description,  303;  importance,  303; 
origin,  303;  seeding,  304;  utilization, 
305. 

Ox-eye  daisy,  495,  508. 

Pastures. 

Essentials,  281;  formation,  281;  im- 
portance, 281;  improving,  283;  man- 
agement, 283;  plants,  282;  renovat- 
ing, 284. 

Peanut. 

Characters,  376;  cultivation,  377; 
harvesting,  378;  importance,  377; 
uses,  379. 

Pearl  millet,  325. 

Pepper  grass,  506. 

Perennial  rye  grass,  291. 

Perennial  weeds,  495. 

Phosphorus,  34,  37,  38. 

Plantain,  495,  508. 

Plant  food. 

Elements,  34;  sources,  36,  93. 

Planting  seeds,  25. 

Pop  corn,  50. 

Potash,  37,  38 

Potassium,  35. 

Potatoes. 

Acre  yield,  403;  blight,  415;  breeding, 
419;  brown  rot,  417;  characters,  400; 
cost  of  production,  413;  crossing, 
418;  cultivation,  409;  cutting  seed, 
407;  diseases,  415;  exports  and  im- 
ports, 414;  growing,  404;  harvesting, 
410;  importance,  401;  improvement, 
418;  insects,  417;  irrigation,  410; 
marketing,  412;  origin  and  history, 
399;  picking,  411;  planting,  408;  pre- 
paring the  land,  404;  preparing  seed, 
407;  prices,  413;  production,  402 
rotation,  414;  scab,  416;  seed,  405 
soils  and  fertilizers,  403;  sorting,  411 
storing,  411;  varieties,  401. 

Quack  grass,  495,  497,   500.   505,  508 

Rag-doll  tester,  65. 

Ragweed,  454,  505,  509. 

Rape,  396. 


Red  clover. 

Description,  333;  enemies,  345;  im- 
portance, 335;  inoculation,  340;  mak- 
ing hay,  341;  nurse  crop,  339;  origin, 
333;  pasturing,  343;  rotation,  345: 
seed  to  use,  337;  soils,  336;  sowing, 
338;  treatment,  340;  value,  343. 

Redtop. 

Description,  301;  importance,  302; 
origin,  301;  seeding,  303;  soils,  303; 
related  plants,  302. 

Reproduction,  40. 

Rescue  grass,  310. 

Respiration,  28. 

Rice. 

Botanical  characters,  237;  conditions 
for  production,  239;  growing,  240; 
importance,  238;  origin  and  history, 
237;  uses,  240;  varieties,  238. 

Roots    17,  defined,  29;  growth,  30. 

Root  crops,  17,  389. 

Root  hairs,  31. 

Rotation  of  crops. 

Advantages,  426;  classe.'*  of  crops,  482; 
crops  to  grow,  486;  definition,  475; 
essentials,  483;  length  of  rotation, 
488;  origin,  475;  suggestive  rotations. 
488;  when  to  fertilize,  487. 

Russian  thistle,  500,  506,  508. 

Rust,  155,  496. 

Rutabagas,  394. 

Rye. 

Description,  217;  diseases,  223;  grow- 
ing, 220;  importance,  217;  production, 
218;  straw,  223;  uses,  221. 

Rye  grass,  313. 

Scab,  155,  417. 

Score  cards. 

Barley,  215;  corn,  120;  oats,  194; 
wheat,  161. 

Sedatives,  19. 

Seed. 

Definition,   23;   production   of,   40. 

Sheep  sorrel,  508. 

Shepherd's  purse,  454. 

Silage,  86,  253. 

Silicon,  35. 

Sirup. 

Corn,  lOS;  sorghum,  319. 

Sisal,  459. 

Smartweed,  506. 

Smut. 

Barley.  212;  corn,  109;  oats,  193; 
■wheat,  156. 

Squirreltail,  508. 

Sodium,  35. 

Sorghums,  grain. 

Botanical  description,  241;  import- 
ance, 243;  growing,  244;  origin  and 
history,  241;  types,  243;  value,  245. 


INDEX 


515 


Sorghums,  grass. 

Culture,  317;  description,  315;  ii.i- 
portance,  317;  origin,  315;  sirup,  310; 
uses,  318. 

Sow  thistle,  495,  505,  506.  SOS. 

Spraying. 

Potatoes,  416;  weeds,  507. 

Starch,  35,  108. 

Stimulants  and  sedatives,  19. 

Stover,  corn,  80,  253. 

Sudan  grass. 

Adaptation,  320;  culture,  321;  descrip- 
tion, 320;  uses,  321. 

Sugar,  430,  431. 

Sugar  cane. 

Characters,  431,  cultivation,  434;  ex- 
tracting the  juice,  435;  harvesting, 
434;  making  the  sugar  436;  planting, 
434;  production,  432;  propagation, 
432;  soils  and  fertilizers,  433;  sugar 
content.  431. 

Sugar  beet,  390.     See  beet,  sugar. 

Sugar  crops,  18. 

Sugar  plants,  426. 

Sulphur,  35. 

Sunflowers,  509. 

Sunlight,  38. 

Sweet  clover. 

Culture,  383;  curing,  384;  cutting, 
383;  description,  382;  harvesting,  383; 
importance,  382. 

Sweet  corn,  49. 

Sweet  potatoes. 

Cultivation,  423;  description,  419; 
digging,  424;  growing  the  plants,  421; 
importance,  420;  origin,  419;  prepar- 
ing the  soil,  422;  setting  the  plants, 
423;  soils  and  fertilizers,  421;  uses, 
424;  varieties,  420. 

Teosinte,  326. 

Timothy. 

Description,  201;  care  of  meadow,  294 ; 
harvesting,  296;  importance,  292; 
making  hay,  294;  origin,  291;  pastur- 
ing, 295;  seed  and  seeding,  293;  soils 
and  fertilizers,  293;  value,  295. 

Toadflax,  508. 

Tobacco. 

Botanical  characters,  461;  composi- 
tion, 462;  cultivation,  468;  curing, 
470;  diseases,  473;  grading,  471; 
harvesting,  469;  importance,  462;  in- 
sects, 473;  marketing,  472;  origin  and 
history,  461;  preparing  the  field,  467; 
preparing  the  seed  bed,  464;  returns, 
472;  rotation,  473;  setting  the  plants, 
468;  selection  of  seed,  473;  soils  and 
fertilizers,  463;  sowing  seed,  465;  strip- 
ping, 471;  topping,  468;  types,  462. 


Translocation,  27. 
Transpiration,  28. 
Tubers,  17,  399. 
Tumbleweeds,  500. 
Turnips,  394. 
Units  of  measure,  54. 
Uses  of  crops,  19. 
Vegetable  matter,  36. 
Velvet  bean,  387. 
Velvet  weed,  505,  509. 
Vetches. 

Culture,   386;  description,   385,   500; 
uses,  386. 
Water,  38. 
Weeds. 

Annual,  494;  benefits,  498;  biennial, 
494;  classes,  493;  damage,  495;  defini- 
tion, 493;  eradication,  502;  how  weeds 
spread,  499;  meadow,  508;  need  for 
study,  493;  pasture,  508;  perennial, 
495;  roadside,  508;  spraying,  507. 
Weevil,  113. 
Wheat. 

Acre  yield,  134;  breeding,  159;  classi- 
fication, 127;  cost  of  production,  150; 
crossing,  160;  diseases,  154;  distribu- 
tion, 132;  durum,  130;  exports  and 
imports,  149;  fanning  mill  selection, 
138;  fertilization,  125;  flour,  153; 
flowers,  124;  grades,  147;  growing, 
136;  harrowing,  141;  harvesting,  142; 
importance,  130;  insects,  158;  judg- 
ing, 160;  kernels,  128;  leaves,  124; 
marketing,  147;  new  varieties,  139; 
nurse  crops,  153;  origin  and  historJ^ 
123;  preparing  the  land,  136;  prepar- 
ing seed,  138;  prices,  149;  production, 
130;  rotation,  152;  score  card,  161; 
season  of  growth,  127;  shocking,  142; 
soils  and  fertilizers,  134;  sowing,  140; 
spring,  129;  stacking,  144;  storing, 
146;  threshing,  145;  time  of  sowing, 
140;  uses,  154;  varieties,  127;  winter, 
129. 
White  clover. 

Characters,  346;  rotation,  348;  sow- 
ing, 347. 
White  grubs,  112. 
Wild  barley,  508. 
Wild  buckwheat,  505. 
Wild  garlic,  506. 
Wild  morning-glory,  506. 
Wild  mustard,  506. 
Wild  oats,  500,  506. 
Wilt,  flax,  233. 
Wilting,  31. 
Wireworms,  110. 
Wood  meadow  grass,  297. 
Yarrow,  508. 


STANDARD  AGRICULTURAL  BOOKS 

STANDARD   AGRICULTURAL 
BOOKS 

Published  by 
WEBB   PUBLISHING  CO.,   ST.    PAUL,   MINN. 

FIELD    CROPS 

By  A.  D.  WILSON,  Sup't  of  Farmers'  Institutes  and  Extension, 

Minnesota   College   of  Agriculture,   and   C.   W.   WAR- 

BURTON,   Agronomist,   U.    S.   D.    A. 


544  pages,  162  illustrations,  cloth    $1.80  net. 

This  book  discusses  the  peculiarities  of  each  of  the  various  classes 
and  varieties  of  farm  crops,  the  handling  of  the  soil,  selections  of  seed, 
and  general  crop  management.  It  covers  the  cereals,  including  corn, 
wheat,  oats,  rye,  barley,  etc.;  forage  crops,  iiicluding  hay  grasses,  clo- 
ver, alfalfa,  cowpeas  and  other  legumes;  how  to  make  good  meadows 
and  pastures,  and  the  art  of  hay  making,  etc.;  root  crops;  sugar  crops; 
fibre  crops,  including  cotton,  flax,  hemp;  tobacco,  potatoes,  in  fact 
evesy  farm  crop  of  any  importance  is  discussed.  The  introductory 
chapters  give  the  general  classification  of  farm  crops  and  their  uses  and 
relative  importance,  and  review  the  subject  of  how  plants  grow.  The 
concluding  chapters  discuss  the  theory  and  practice  of  crop  rotation 
and  weeds  and  their  eradication.  A  list  of  supplementary  references 
is  given  at  the  close  of  each  chapter.  The  style  is  easy,  subject  matter 
well  arranged  and  vital,  and  the  book  is  of  excellent  mechanical 
makeup. 


AGRICULTURAL  ENGINEERING 

By  J.  B.  DAVIDSON,  Professor  of  Agricultural  Engineering, 
Iowa  State  College 


."554  pages,  342  illustrations,  cloth,  $1.80  net. 


The  subjects  discussed  are  so  applicable  to  the  every-day  work 
of  the  farm  that  the  book  will  prove  of  great  interest  and  value  to 
those  engaged  in  practical  agriculture.  The  following  subjects  are 
given  space  according  to  their  importance:  Agricultural  Surveying, 
Drainage,  Irrigation,  Road  Construction,  Farm  Machinery,  Farm  Mo- 
tors. Farm  Structures,  Farm  Sanitation,  and  Rope  Work.  Each  chap- 
ter is  followed  by  a  set  of  questions  for  review  and  for  thought  pro- 
motion. Lists  of  references  to  best  books  and  bulletins  are  included. 
Complete  index.     A  splendid  guide  to  the  mechanics  of  the  farm. 

STANDARD  AGRICULTURAL  BOOKS 


STANDARD  AGRICULTURAL  BOOKS 

BEGINNINGS  IN  ANIMAL 
HUSBANDRY 

By   CHARLES   S.    PLUMB,   Professor   of  Animal  Husbandry,   College 
of  Agriculture,    Ohio   State   University. 

395  pages,  217  illustrations,  cloth,  $1.60  net. 

Beginnings  in  Animal  Husbandry  is  a  book  that  will  be  found  to 
be  of  interest  and  invaluable  assistance  to  the  farmer.  Among  the  sub- 
jects discussed  are:  The  Importance  of  Animal  Husbandry;  Breeds 
of  Horses,  Cattle,  Sheep  and  Swine;  Animal  Type  and  Its  Importance; 
Reasons  and  Methods  in  Judging  Live  Stock;  Points  of  the  Horse; 
Judging  Horses,  Cattle,  Sheep  and  Swine,  etc.;  Heredity:  Its  Meaning 
and  Influence;  Selection  and  Its  Importance;  Pedigrees  and  Their 
Values;  Suggestions  to  Young  Breeders;  Composition  of  Plans  and 
Animals;  Influence  of  Foods  on  the  Body;  Feeding  Standards,  Origin 
and  Use;  How  to  Calculate  a  Ration;  Coarse  Feeds  and  Their  Values; 
Concentrated  Feeds  and  Their  Value;  Care  of  Farm  Animals;  Poultry: 
Types  and  Breeds,  Judging,  Feeding;  Eggs  and  Incubation;  Poultry 
Houses.     Every   subject  discussed   fully. 


SOILS  AND  SOIL  FERTILITY 

By  A.  R.  WHITSON,  Professor  of  Soils  and  Drainage,  and  H.  L. 
WALSTER,   Instructor  of  Soils,   Univ.   of  Wis. 


315  pages,  well  illustrated,  cloth,  $1.60  net. 

No  other  book  on  Soils  presents  the  relation  of  the  soil  to  the 
production  of  crops  in  so  clear  and  agreeable  a  manner  as  this.  There 
are  chapters  on  the  following:  Conditions  E£«3ential  to  Plant  Growth, 
Origin  and  Classification  of  Soils:  Primary  Relations  of  Soil  and  Plant; 
Nitrogen;  Phosphorus  and  Potash;  Soil  Analysis;  Farm  Manure;  Com- 
mercial Fertilizers;  Physical  Properties  of  Soils;  Water  Supply;  Tem- 
Serature  and  Ventilation  of  Soils;  Drainage;  Erosion;  Tillage;  Humus; 
elation  of  Crops  to  Climate  and  Soil;  Soils  of  the  United  States; 
Management  of  Important  Types  of  Soil;  Dry  Farming.  Explicit 
language  and  the  avoidance  of  technical  matter  make  the  book  ideal 
for  those  interested  in  a  practical  study  of  soils. 


DAIRY  LABORATORY  GUIDE 

By  G.  L.  MARTIN,  Professor  of  Dairying,  North  Dakota  Agricultural 

College. 


140  pages,  illustrated,  cloth,  72c  postpaid. 

This  laboratory  manual  offers  a  carefully  organized  series  of  exer- 
cises covering  the  principles  of  modern  dairy  practice,  with  sugges- 
tions for  their  practical  application.  It  covers  the  Production  and  Care, 
Testing,  Manufacturing,  and  Marketing,  of  Dairy  Products.  An  indis- 
pensable guide  for  classes  in  Dairying  and  for  Creamerymen. 

STANDARD  AGRICULTURAL  BOOKS 


STANDARD  AGRICULTURAL  BOOKS 

POPULAR  FRUIT  GROWING 

By  SAMUEL  B.  GREEN,  late  Professor  of  Horticulture  and  Forestry, 
University  of  Minnesota. 
Revised  by  Le  Roy  Cady. 

300  pages,    120   illustrations,   cloth,  $1.50, 


Although  there  are  a  number  of  books  on  fruit  culture  extant,  no 
other  book  is  so  thoroughly  definite  and  explicit  for  the  ordinary  reader. 
In  this  volume  every  phase  of  Fruit  Growing  is  discussed  thoroughly 
with   particular  attention  given   to   details. 

The  Appendix  includes  a  complete  spraying  calendar  with  formulas 
for  spraying  and  instructions  how  to  apply  and  when;  Fungicides  and 
Insecticides;  Waxes  for  Grafting  and  for  wounds — how  made;  List  of 
Fruits  especially  adapted  to  certain  typical  States;  Rules  for  Naming 
Fruits;  Usual  Distances  Apart  for  Planting  Fruits;  Also  Number  of 
Plants   to  the  Acre. 


VEGETABLE  GARDENING 

By  SAMUEL  B.  GREEN,  late  Professor  of  Horticulture  and  Forestry, 

University  of  Minnesota. 

12th  Edition.     Revised  by  Le  Rov  Cady. 

252  pages,  profusely  illustrated,  cloth,  $1.50.  postpaid. 

This  volume  contains  complete  directions  for  the  proper  care  and 
management  of  a  farm  or  market  garden.  It  is  a  thoroughly  practical 
work,  and  is  the  result  of  the  Author's  many  years  of  careful  study 
and  experience  in  vegetable  growing.  It  is  a  work  of  incalculable  value 
to  farmers,  truck  gardeners  and  amateur  vegetable  growers,  as  well 
as  a  most  complete  text  for  students. 

The  immense  sale  of  the  former  editions,  which  have  been  fre- 
quently revised,  indicates  the  estimate  of  its  value  as  a  complete  and 
thorough   treatise    of    the    subject. 

For  years  Vegetable  Gardening  has  been  regarded  as  the  leading 
authority. 

The  Appendix  includes  a  Monthly  Calendar  of  garden  operations 
which  is  a  valuable  and  safe  guide  for  planting  in  the  proper  season. 
There  are  also  many  valuable  tables  of  different  data  giving  exact 
details. 


AMATEUR  FRUIT  GROWING 

By  SA:MUEL  B.  GREEN,  late  Professor  of  Horticulture, 
University  of  Minnesota. 

134  pages,  profusely  illustrated,  cloth,  75  '^ents. 


A  thoroughly  practical  guide  to  the  growing  of  fruit  for  home  use 
and  the  market.     Written  with  special  reference  to  colder  climates. 

Just  the  book  for  beginners,  as  it  covers  the  entire  subject  of 
growth,  cultivation  and  marketing  of  small  fruits  such  as  Strawberries, 
Raspberries,  Blackberries,  Currants,  Gooseberries,  Grapes,  Cranberries. 
Juneberry,  Sand  Cherry,  Buffaloberrv  and  Mulberry  in  addition  to  the 
cultivation,  pruning  and  grafting  of  the  larger  fruits  such  as  the  Apple. 
Plum   and    Cherry. 

Every  detail  is  explained  clearly  and  nothing  is  left  for  the  Ama- 
teur to  assume. 

STANDARD  AGRICULTURAL  BOOKS 


plillllllllllllllllllllllllllllllillllllllllllllillllllill^^ 

I  Rural  Education  | 

I                                A.  E.  PICKARD  I 

I                 AN    AID    TO    PRODUCTIVE    TEACHING  | 

i                 FOR  NORMAL  CLASSES,  READING  CIR-  1 

i                 CLES,  COD  NT  Y  SUPERINTENDENTS  and  g 

1                 RURAL  TEACHERS 1 

M              Adopted  in  Several  States  and  Many  Counties  J 

p               Industrial  subjects  are  disputing  place  with  academic  = 

M  even  in  the  rural  school.     What  shall  be  eliminated?     What  M 

M  shall  be  taught?     How?     With  what  result?  = 

I                      Rural  Education  Tells  What  to  Teach  1 

p              Aside  from  the  excellent  arrangement  of  the  program  of  M 

p  academic  subjects  and   the  full  treatment   of   methods  for  = 

M  teaching  the  same,  Rural  Education  presents  practical  plans  M 

=  for  including  the  required  industrial  work,  viz:  agriculture,  ^ 

^  manual  training  and  domestic  science.     In  addition  it  fully  M 

^  discusses  the  outside  activities  which  enlarge  the  scope  of  the  M 

^  school  and  the  community  life  and  form  a  vital  part  of  real  M 

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^  fiicting  courses  is  a   problem   which   this   book  solves  with  ^ 

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M  of  each  subject  in  detail.     In  the  industrial  subjects  the  actual  = 

M  work  to  be  pursued  is  supplied.  p 

M              Rural  Education  Increases  Teaching  Efficiency  M 

m              The   definite   outlines   and    methods    which    have   been  = 

m  thoroly  tested  and  found  to  be  most  successful,  together  with  ^ 

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^  of  new  and  greater  possibilities,  tend  to  increase  efficiency  in  ^ 

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M                           12tno.,  430  pages.     Illustrated.     Price,  $1.50  net  M 

I                          WEBB  PUBLISHING  COMPANY,  | 

m                                                  SAINT  PAUL.   MINN.  = 

iiiiiii!iiiii!iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiyiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii^^ 


Elements  of  Farm  Practice 

Wilson  and  Wilson 

The  latest  and  most  up-to-date  elementary  agricultural  text  for 
rural  and  graded  schools. 

IT  IS  THE  PRODUCT  OF  EXPERIENCE. 

The  authors  have  both  teaching  and  farm  experience.  The 
publishers  are  specialists  in  agricultural  and  industrial  texts  and  are 
m  close  touch  with  the  ever-growing  needs  of  our  schools. 

IT  IS  A  COMPLETE  COURSE  OF  STUDY. 

Elements  of  Farm  Practice  fully  covers  the  range  of  agriculture 
and  rural  life  in  an  orderly,  logical  and  progressive  fashion  that  is 
cumulative,  emphatic  and  inspiring. 

IT  IS  TEACHABLE. 

Each  lesson  naturally  precedes  the  next  and  prepares  for  it.  The 
style  is  fascinating.  Children  become  lovers  of  God's  great  out-of- 
doors.     This  kind  of  pedagogy  is  perfect. 

IT  IS  PRACTICAL. 

The  lessons  are  correlated  with  arithmetic  and  other  studies. 
They  teem  with  actual  life,  make  the  farm  the  school  laboratory  and 
are  based  on  actual  operations  and  conditions. 

IT  IS  ABREAST  OF  THE  TIMES. 

Elements  of  Farm  Practice  is  the  latest  book  of  its  kind  pub- 
lished. It  contains  the  most  recent  figures  and  facts  available.  It 
also  gives  prominent  attention  to  Farmers'  Clubs,  Boys'  and  Girls' 
Clubs,  Co-operation,  Marketing,  Accounts,  The  Farm  Home  and 
School  Gardens. 

IT  IS  HEARTILY  ENDORSED. 

State,    county   and   city    superintendents,    professors   in    normal 
schools  and  agricultural  colleges,  and  rural  school  teachers  themselves 
have  been  unanimous  in   profuse  praise  of  this  book. 
"The  more  we  use  it  the  more  we  like  it." 
"I   began  to  examine  it  and  read   it  through." 


No  other  book  appeals  so  much  to  the  boys  and  the  girls. 
No  other  book  so  well  connects  the  work  of  the  school  and  home. 
No  other  book  produces  so  effective  results  in  rural  schools. 
Printed  on  high  grade  paper,  strongly  bound,  copiously  illustrated, 
364  pages,  $1.20  net. 

Webb  Publishing  Company, 

St.  Paul,  Minn. 


